UK February Storms Caused Relatively Low Cost Damage

The ABI has offered an update on the cost of Storms Eunice, Franklin and Dudley, which came in at about £500m, which is a great deal of money, but to put it in context it’s £100m more than the cost of upgrading Euston Station to provide a HS2 building, line and platform. It’s also £300m more than the government spent on PPE supplied by bra tycoon Michelle Mone. Allegedly.

Here’s the word from the ABI;

The damage caused by Storms Dudley, Eunice and Franklin that hit much of the UK during February is expected to lead to insurers paying out nearly £500 million in dealing with 177,000 insurance claims , according to figures out today from the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

The figures out today show that:

• There have been 177,000 claims notified for damaged homes, businesses and vehicles, with total payouts of £497million expected. Of these claims, 169,500 relate to property damage costing £473 million.
• Emergency payments to relieve immediate hardship totalled £13 million.
• It is estimated that £2.2 million will be paid in arranging alternative temporary accommodation for policyholders whose homes were uninhabitable while repairs being carried out
• There were 7,522 claims for damage caused to vehicles, leading to incurred claims worth £23 million.

This overall payout figure compares to the estimated £543 million paid in storm and flood claims following Storms Ciara, Dennis and Jorge in February 2020

Sarah Brodie, the ABI’s Senior Policy Adviser, General Insurance, said:

“Storms and floods are exactly the type of unwelcome event that insurance protects against. When bad weather strikes, the priority for insurers is always do all they can to help their customers recover from what can be a traumatic and costly experience as quickly as possible. From making immediate emergency payments where needed, arranging temporary alternative accommodation while badly damaged properties are being repaired, to organising repairs, insurers continue to support their customers whenever storms strike.”

INDUSTRY COMMENT;

Rebecca Rogers, head of property claims at Allianz Commercial:

“We experienced a claims surge in February as Storm Eunice blew exceptionally strong winds over the UK and Storm Franklin caused flooding in several regions. However, we were well prepared for this. Thanks to precise geospatial forecasts, our claims handlers were fully mobilised and our loss adjusting partners were on call. We had a simplified process for storm claims and in the most affected locations, we proactively liaised with brokers so they knew which information we needed to handle the claim from the first notification of loss (FNOL).

That’s our one-touch settlement approach and we’re very grateful for brokers who’ve supported this as it made a big difference in how quickly our customers have been able to recover. We stressed the importance to customers to notify their brokers or insurers as quickly as possible for all commercial property claims and especially during surge conditions as the earlier we are notified of a claim, the quicker we can provide our customers with full support including suitable repair options. This results in getting their business back up and running quickly and reduces the lifecycle of the claim.”