The insurance industry’s final bill for Storm Éowyn, which struck Ireland in January, has exceeded €301 million, making it the most expensive insurance event in Irish history.
The storm was one of the most damaging Ireland has ever faced, bringing gusts of 184km/h, breaking a record that had stood since 1945. Some 815,000 properties on the island lost power, with 768,000 of these in the Republic.
Many were without power for weeks, while hundreds of energy technicians were drafted in from abroad to help ESB Networks with repairs.
A breakdown of the final toll from the event released to The Irish Times shows a total of 33,768 claims were lodged. The value of these claims exceeded €301 million.
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The most costly claims related to businesses where 9,725 claims resulted in payouts totalling €165.6 million. The average business claim stood at €17,000.
Another €129.4 million was paid out to 22,530 homeowners, with the average claim coming to €5,745. The balance of €6.2 million in costs to the industry came from 1,513 claims against motor policies.
A spokeswoman for Insurance Ireland said insurers also spent money to pay staff “significant” overtime as they dealt with the huge volume of claims.
“During and in the immediate aftermath of the storm, insurance companies took a number of actions to assist business and homeowners that had been impacted to get them back on their feet,” she said.
These included engaging in “extensive policyholder communication” through both direct and public communication channels.
“Storm Éowyn’s widespread disruption underscores the critical importance of having appropriate insurance cover in place,” she added.
The Department of Agriculture reported that the storm blew down 23,625 hectares of forest in the Republic
Only one event – freezing conditions across the country in January, 2010 – has come close to Storm Éowyn in terms of costs to the insurance industry, when firms paid out €297 million.
Flooding in November, 2009, was the next 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 event prior to Storm Éowyn at €111 million.
FBD, the Republic’s only indigenous general insurer, reported last week that its profits fell by almost half in the first six months of the year, something it put down to a surge in claims due to Storm Éowyn.
Its claims increased by €96.1 million over the six-month period, which it said mainly reflected the poor weather in January due to Storm Éowyn, as well as the cold spell. FBD said the month’s weather events cost it €30.6 million.
It described Storm Éowyn as “an unprecedented weather event” as it set new records for wind speeds at various locations. As of June, 90 per cent of claims notified had been fully resolved with the remainder progressing towards finalisation, FBD said.
The damage from the storm extended beyond the insurance industry also. It is believed to have levelled up to €500 million of timber in commercial forests, according to industry calculations based on the latest Government damage estimates.
The Department of Agriculture reported that the storm blew down 23,625 hectares of forest in the Republic.
In addition, more than €5.2 million in humanitarian assistance was paid to households affected by Storm Éowyn, which exceeded the annual totals for payments under the scheme for every year since at least 2017. Some 66,887 claims were made.
