Insurers expect weather damage worth 7 billion euros in 2024 in Germany, call for binding adaptation

Insurance companies expect damages from extreme weather events in Germany to amount to at least seven billion euros by the end of 2024 and are calling on the government to take binding measures to improve climate impact adaptation, the German Insurance Association (GDV) said. After a challenging start to the year, which included several major flooding events in the country, the GDV expects that the annual costs from natural hazard-related damages to exceed the average level from previous years. “If there are heavy storms in autumn and winter, total damages could well be higher,” association head Jörg Asmussen said.

Extreme weather events including storms, hail, lightning, and floods caused damages to insured buildings, furniture, company and industry property as well as to vehicles worth nearly five billion euros in 2023, in line with the long-term average. In 2024, the damages amounted to four billion euros in the first six months alone. “The first half of the year was marked by severe flooding,” the association said, adding that floods in southern Germany caused two billion euros worth of damage in June alone.

In light of high financial losses that are anticipated, the GDV renewed its calls for mandatory climate adaptation measures: “We need uniform standards across the country that stipulate how and where construction is permitted in risk zones. It is incomprehensible that we do not have a consistent ban on construction in flooding zones,” Asmussen said. He called for amending the building code accordingly, and advocated also for a reduction of soil sealing to increase natural drainage capacities. “We fear that without pre-emptive measures we will be entering a spiral of ever-higher damages and ever-higher insurance rates that could financially overburden customers,” the GDV head argued. Only about half of all buildings in Germany were “comprehensively” insured against all natural hazards, the lobby group said. “Many homeowners underestimate the risks stemming from heavy rains and floods,” the GDV argued, pointing out that it offers a “flood check” to property owners to assess their individual risks.

Germany's chancellor Olaf Scholz had said that the possible introduction of a nationwide mandatory insurance against natural hazards would be discussed among the federal government and the states in the aftermath of mass floods affecting southern Germany. The chancellor also stressed that adaptation measures, such as opening up lowlands around rivers which can absorb surplus water, are urgently needed and that his government remained committed to supporting the necessary works. In July, a law requiring German municipalities, states and the country as a whole to adapt to the effects of climate change has come into effect. The law makes it legally binding for municipalities to draw up climate risk assessments and implement measures to better deal with increasing periods of heavy rain, high heat and more frequent flooding.