BERLIN, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Damages caused by natural hazards such as storms and hail in Germany grew to 5.7 billion euros (6.2 billion U.S. dollars) in 2023, up 1.7 billion euros on the previous year, the German Insurance Association (GDV) said on Monday.
The increase was mainly due to severe hail damage to motor vehicles, which cost 2 billion euros, according to GDV. Last year, average claims for storm and hail damage in motor insurance reached the third-highest level ever recorded after a hailstorm in Munich in 1984 and the devastating floods of 2021.
As Germany is increasingly hit by severe storms, also in the first months of 2024, with flooding particularly in the small western federal state of Saarland, calls for a mandatory natural hazard insurance are growing louder.
The idea of a mandatory natural hazard insurance was already proposed by German lawmakers in the aftermath of the 2021 flood disaster that killed almost 200 people in the country.
The insurance association GDV warned that this was not a silver bullet and is recommending focusing on prevention instead. (1 euro = 1.08 U.S. dollar)
