The strong winds that hit the country on Thursday caused damages worth tens of millions of crowns to insurance company clients. This is according to a poll among the largest insurance companies. The main damage was to roofs, greenhouses and cars. A further increase in the number of reported cases is expected after the weekend, when clients will check their holiday properties.
“As of Friday’s noon, clients have so far reported to us 600 damages caused by the storm. “We estimate their total amount at CZK 24 million, “said Kooperativa’s spokesman Milan Káňa. Most of them were reported by clients from Prague, Central Bohemia (Kladno and Prague-East districts) and Ústí nad Labem. The main damage is to roofs, facades, and shelters. “But we have already registered several dozen vehicles damaged by falling trees and branches.” He noted that more reports are expected in the coming days. “We anticipate that there will be another surge of damage reports after the weekend when people will go to check their holiday properties.”
During Thursday afternoon, clients reported 460 damages to Generali Česká pojišťovna caused by the storm, falling trees and also by power surges. “This morning’s damage reporting is continuous and we have currently handled over three hundred calls in which we are registering damage,” said Jan Marek, a spokesman for the insurance company.
Allianz’s current estimate of damage due to the wind is 300 to 500 claims with total damage of up to ten million CZK. These are mainly damaged cars, houses, greenhouses and damaged roofs. Insurance claims are reported by clients across the country, said insurance company spokeswoman Kateřina Pavlíková.
The damage from yesterday’s windstorm is unlikely to reach the scale of the destruction caused by the June and July storms. Those could become the fourth larger natural disaster for insurers since the Czech Republic was founded in 1993, experts say. The June tornado, with the extent of its damage to property now estimated at almost CZK 3.5 billion, is very high on the list of the largest natural disasters that have occurred in the last 20 years, with only three large-scale floods in the past being considered more disastrous.