Insurers say Storm Éowyn could yet be the most expensive weather event this century as they upgraded the likely cost of claims for damage from the storm which left many home sin the west of Ireland without power or water for two weeks.
Figures compiled by Insurance Ireland on the basis of 23,903 claims to date estimate the cost of repairing storm damage will be €197.2 million.
That is just shy of the upper end of the industry’s previous estimate of €150 million to €200 million just two weeks ago. The industry now expects those figures to be exceeded by “quite a margin”.
“The indication we have received from members is that it could grow to €300 million,” a spokeswoman said.
The most costly claims to date relate to the businesses where 6,258 claims are expected to result in payouts of €97.3 million. Another €94.7 million relates to 16,339 claims from homeowners.
The balance of €5.1 million in expected costs to the industry comes from claims against motor policies.
But Insurance Ireland warned that the “situation is still ongoing and members continue to receive, assess and settle claims on a daily basis. Therefore these are not final figures.”
Since the beginning of the century, only one event — freezing conditions across the country in January 2010 — led to claims of close to €300 million for the Irish insurance industry.
Flooding in November 2009 was the second most-costly episode, costing insurers €244 million. Another big freeze in late 2010 led to €224 million in claims losses. In storm terms, Storm Darwin back in 2014 was the most expensive this century prior to Storm Éowyn.
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Insurance have come under pressure from Government to handle claims expeditiously.
Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe wrote to Insurance Ireland at the end of January, urging insurers to be responsive and fair in dealings with policyholders following the surge in claims.
Insurance Ireland says the insurance companies have been dealing promptly with the claims arising from the storm.
“They mobilised additional staff to offer advice and assess the damage and ensure that their customers get the assistance they need,” the spokeswoman said. “Insurers and their claim handlers anticipated a surge in policy holder claims in both auto and property and put in additional resources in the claims teams to deal with the higher volume of claims.
“Insurers have also been engaging with their network of approved repairers to ensure they too are resourced up to deal with the consequential repairs.
“We would like to reassure policy holders that their claims are being handled as expeditiously as possible.”
Insurance Ireland said insurers had updated their websites to give clear advice on the claims process and what to do if you have been impacted.
It noted that storm damage is a standard insured peril on all household insurance policies.
