estimate
“Zeynep” costs insurers more than 900 million euros
Storm low “Zeynep” has caused major damage to houses and cars. Photo: Lars-Josef Klemmer/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Especially in the north, storm “Zeynep” raged over Germany and also destroyed houses and cars. Anyone who is insured will be reimbursed for the damage.
According to an initial estimate, storm “Zeynep” caused insured losses of over 900 million euros. The storm was the most intense since “Kyrill” in 2007, said management consultancy Meyerthole Siems Kohlruss (MSK), which specializes in actuarial mathematics.
The highest wind speed was reached at 162 kilometers per hour at the “Alte Weser” lighthouse in the German Bight. “For Germany, we assume insured damage of over 900 million euros,” said MSK Managing Director Onnen Siems. The company had already estimated the insured damage from the previous storm “Ylenia” at 500 million euros.
south hardly affected
Insured damage is only damage that is ultimately covered by an insurer. The overall damage caused by storms and other natural catastrophes is generally higher, sometimes quite significantly.
In contrast to “Kyrill”, “Zeynep” hardly hit the southern half of Germany. South of a line from Saarbrücken to Nuremberg, the effects are minor, as the management consultancy said. “Kyrill” had caused much higher insured damage, in today’s values it was over three billion euros, according to MSK.
The estimates by Meyerthole Siems Kohlruss are not based on damage reports from insurance customers, but on the calculations of a forecast model called “Storm Chaser”. MSK operates numerous data pools, which the management consultancy uses to evaluate existing damage data and create forecasts. The basis is the statistics of the participating insurance companies.