December 12, 2013 by Canadian Underwriter
Insured losses from the storm that hit northern Europe last week will range between 700 million euros and 1.4 billion euros, catastrophe modelling firm AIR Worldwide said Thursday.
The majority of losses from the storm, Xaver, will be in Denmark, Germany and the United Kingdom, although losses also occurred in the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden and Norway.
“Xaver brought with it a potent combination of hurricane-force gusts, torrential rains, and storm surge, which caused significant travel disruption, power outages, and property damage across parts of the U.K., Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, southern Sweden, and Norway,” Dr. Gerhard Zuba, senior principal scientist at AIR Worldwide commented in a statement on the estimate.
“Reported observation data for the storm include gusts up to 148 km/h and 158 km/h in areas along the Danish and German coasts,” Zuba added.
“Comparisons have been made between Xaver and winterstorms Christian, which struck earlier this year, and Anatol in 1999, which also caused significant losses in Denmark. The wind speeds of Xaver were generally not as intense as either of these storms, however.”
On Wednesday, AIR also noted that structural damage from the storm was limited in the U.K., Germany and the Netherlands because of flood defenses.
AIR’s industry insured loss estimates reflect:
Insured physical damage from wind to onshore property (residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, auto), both structures and their contents
Losses to insured forestry in Norway and Sweden
AIR’s insured loss estimates do not include:
Losses from coastal storm surge and inland flooding
Business interruption and additional living expenses (ALE) for residential claims for all modeled countries except the UK
Losses to uninsured properties
Losses to infrastructure
Demand surge (AIR’s demand surge function is not triggered by this event)
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