Insured losses from windstorm Ela in June total 650 million euros to date

German insurers have reported about 350,000 property and vehicle claims amounting to 650 million euros in the wake of hail and windstorm Ela, which hit the country last month and inflicted the most serious damage in North Rhine-Westphalia, notes a statement from Gesamtverband der Deutschen (GDV).

Property insurers have received 250,000 claims totalling about 400 million euros for damage to residential buildings and businesses, while motor insurers have reported 100,000 claims totalling about 250 million euros, notes the release from GDV, a federation of private insurers in Germany with 470 member companies.

The loss total is likely to increase, however, since it is reported that insurer Allianz S.E. and reinsurers Munich Re and Hannover Re S.E. have not yet issued their respective loss estimates.

Ela was among the most violent storms in decades, GVD reports, pointing out that the event was accompanied by gale-force gusts of as much as 144 km/h.

For non-life insurers, Ela is “the second most expensive summer storm over the past 15 years,” Bernhard Gause, a member of GDV’s executive board, says in the statement. Only Andreas in late July 2013 – which brought with it hailstones of as much as eight cm in diameter – has been more costly, with total losses hitting about 1.9 billion euros.

Citing a joint study – published by the insurance industry together with top climate scientists at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, the Free University of Berlin and the University of Cologne – GDV reports that storm damage could increase by more than 50% by 2100. Destructive storms that now occur every 50 years could occur every 10 years, the association adds.

GDV previously reported that flooding, hail and storm damage in 2013 was expected to cost the country’s insurance industry almost 7 billion euros. The estimated 2013 losses include about 1.8 billion euros for flooding in June; 3.1 billion euros for hailstorms; 300 million euros to 400 million euros for windstorm Christian in October; and 100 million euros to 200 million euros for winter storm Xaver in December. Motor insurance claims related to flooding, hailstorms and windstorms were estimated at 1.5 billion euros.

The events of 2013 have clearly shown information and prevention are more important than ever before, GDV noted at the time.