Winter storms have caused billions of dollars in damage

According to estimates, the companies “Zeinab” and “Yelenia” alone cost German insurance companies 1.4 billion euros.

According to preliminary estimates, the winter storms “Zeinab” and “Yelenia” are likely to cost insurance companies more than 1.4 billion euros. Management consulting firm Meyerthole Siems Kohlruss (MSK), which specializes in actuarial mathematics, said Saturday in Cologne that “Zeynep” alone has caused insured losses of more than 900 million euros.

And Zainab was the most severe storm since Kirill in 2007. “For Germany, we assume insured losses of more than 900 million euros,” said MSK Managing Director Onnen Siems. The company had earlier estimated the insured damage from previous storm “Yelenia” at around 500 million euros.

Insured damage is only damage that is ultimately covered by the insurance company. The total damage caused by storms and other natural disasters is generally higher, and sometimes quite significant.

Unlike Kirill, Zeynep with difficulty hit the southern half of Germany. South of the line from Saarbrücken to Nuremberg, the effects are slight, the management consultancy said. Kirill has incurred much higher insured losses, today its value exceeds three billion euros, according to MSK.

Meyerthole Siems Kohlruss estimates are not based on damage reports from insurance clients, but on calculations of a prediction model called “Storm Chaser”. MSK operates several data sets, which management consulting uses to assess existing damage data and create predictions. The basis is the statistics of the participating insurance companies.

(APA/DBA)