Storms cost insurers in Germany around 5.5 billion euros in the past year.

According to calculations by the industry association GDV, insured storm, hail and flood damage was 100 million euros lower than in 2023. "However, the overall claims balance remains high. Particularly in the case of natural hazards - such as flooding - the figures are still well above the long-term average," said Jörg Asmussen, Managing Director of the German Insurance Association (GDV), on Monday.

The greatest damage this year was caused by the floods in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, where mainly smaller rivers burst their banks at the end of May and beginning of June. This caused two billion euros worth of damage to houses and cars, for which insurers had to cover. In Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate, around 200 million euros in flood damage was added at Whitsun. "The floods have once again shown how important flood protection and intact dams and dykes are," said Asmussen. Insurers are insisting on more prevention in order to cushion the increasing damage caused by climate change.

Property insurance accounted for around 4.5 billion euros in storm damage in 2024, while car insurers got off relatively lightly with one billion euros. In motor insurance, the long-term average is between 1.2 and 1.3 billion euros.

(Report by Alexander Hübner. Edited by Olaf Brenner. If you have any queries, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)