According to Austrian insurance companies, financial losses due to natural disasters are increasing. The costs now exceed the billion mark – every year. But a reconsideration in the minds of the Austrians apparently is not yet taking place.
Natural disasters cause about a billion euros in damage throughout Austria every year. The Austrian Association of Insurers (VVO) emphasized this at a press conference in Vienna on Monday. “However, we expect a dramatic increase in adverse events,” said Klaus Scheitegel, vice president of VVO. He therefore also urged politicians to amend the Insurance Contract Act.
After the flood of the century in Austria in 2003, the amount of damage was still between 300 and 400 million euros. With around a billion euros per year, the company has now “reached a consistently high level”.
The increase in natural disasters due to climate change is evident, it said at the media event. In this context, Scheitegel referred to the heavy flooding in Italy last week. Austria also had to prepare for such events, it was stressed. “Every federal state has the potential for natural disasters,” added VVO Secretary General Christian Eltner.
The weather in Austria is changing
In the course of human-induced climate change, extreme weather conditions in Austria have already changed, explains climate researcher Marc Olefs of Geosphere Austria (formerly ZAMG). “In recent decades, for example, the number of days with a lot of rain in the summer has increased by about 30 percent. Days with little rain, on the other hand, became rarer,” says Olefs.
“There is a direct link to global warming here. Because the atmosphere can absorb seven percent more water vapor for every degree of warming, and up to 15 percent more during thunderstorms.”
Eltner and Scheitegel argued on Monday for an adjustment of the legal framework to allow full coverage for natural disasters in fire insurance. This requires an amendment to the Insurance Contract Act. “For a house of 500,000 euros, only five to seven percent can currently be covered after a natural event,” says Scheitegel.
“For Austria-wide insurability of various natural disasters, we need a legal framework that makes it possible to provide insurance coverage across the board.” Unfortunately, there is no political support for this yet, it said.
Reference was also made during the press conference to the “Natural Hazards Monitor” (sample of 1,211 participants) which was carried out in February for the tenth time by the German Road Safety Board (KFV). The data from the survey showed that no review had yet taken place. According to the survey, 62 percent of Austrians believe that it is the sole responsibility of the authorities to protect them from natural disasters. In addition, every second person interviewed indicates that they have no information on how to protect themselves against natural hazards on an individual level.
Italy as a warning
Only 50 percent of the respondents know the meaning of a citizen alarm or know what to do in case of an alarm. Just last week, devastating storms in Italy caused severe flooding in the Adriatic region of Emilia Romagna. Authorities spoke of 14 fatalities, more than 36,000 evacuees and 60 affected communities. According to initial estimates, the floods caused a damage of five billion euros.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
