UK Home Insurance Claims Linked To Weather Hit Record April 15, 2024

By AFP - Agence France Presse

UK Home Insurance Claims Linked To Weather Hit Record

The total value of home insurance claims in the UK linked to damage caused notably by storms surged to a record level last year, an industry body said Monday.

Weather-related damage claims reached £573 million ($716 million), up 36 percent in 2022, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

"This massive rise was largely fuelled by the succession of storms, including Babet, Ciaran, and Debi that struck last autumn," ABI added.

Claims by homeowners for storm damage totalled £133 million, while flooding added £286 million.

A further £153 million of weather claims came from burst pipes.

Businesses incurred £443 million in weather damage claims last year, while fire remained "the primary peril to businesses", with claims for such damage reaching £880 million.

Reinsurance giant Swiss Re last month warned that insured property losses could double worldwide in the coming decade owing to climate change and more frequent and intense severe weather events.

The Zurich-based group -- which acts as an insurer for insurers -- also highlighted the rising costs of hailstorms.

Natural disasters caused $280 billion in damage worldwide in 2023, including $108 billion covered by insurance companies, Swiss Re said in its annual overview of the cost of disasters and natural catastrophes.

BCP/rfj/rl