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Figures published by the Irish Insurance Federation (IIF)
reveal that the combined insured property cost of the November
floods and the January freeze stand at €541m.
The January freeze, which was less visible to the public
than the floods, will see insurers pay nearly €300m to
customers whose homes were affected by burst pipes.
Mike Kemp, IIF
Chief Executive said - "The combined insurance cost of these
two severe weather events that happened in quick succession,
is likely to be nearly 60pc of annual turnover in the property
insurance market.
"In 2008, insurers saw a 29pc increase in household claims
and this upward trend continued in 2009, even before the flood
and burst pipes claims hit."
The insured cost of the two weather events has exceeded the
total cost (€358 million) of all serious weather events
that have occurred in the last decade.
Kemp said - "Insurance is about protecting against risk and
that is the essential vital role we will continue to play
in Irish society" and added that, with the increasing frequency
and severity of extreme weather conditions, there has to be
a "concerted, national approach" to improving flood defences
and planning rules.
Kemp continued - "Our members have worked around the clock
to get the country moving after the severest weather conditions
in living memory. While the costs have been huge, one consequence
of the claims paid is the injection of over half a billion
euro directly back into the Irish economy, which will benefit
many of the trades - especially in the construction sector
- that have been hit hardest by the recession."
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