Extreme rain, hail and wind can cause a lot of damage in the Netherlands. Fortunately, most Dutch people are well insured against storm damage. Due to the changing climate, insurers expect that the damage will increase.
What is insured?
The Dutch are usually well insured against storm damage. Most private home insurance policies cover storm damage. This applies to the house, the contents of the house and to fences. Home insurers often use a deductible. Cars with a third-party plus insurance (limited hull) or all-risk insurance (hull) are insured against damage caused by storms. About two-thirds of the fleet in the Netherlands has this type of insurance.
Top ten storm damages
Based on submitted claims, the Dutch Association of Insurers can map out after a few months how much damage a storm has caused. This only concerns insured damage on the contents, home and car insurance. The total damage is therefore even higher. In 2016, for example, the hailstorm caused more than 200 million euros in damage to greenhouses. But also think of crops on the land, transport, business interruption and infrastructure. That damage is not taken into account in the overview below.
Click on the image (in Dutch) to open the interactive dashboard:
Can the Association make a damage assessment?
If a storm passes over the whole of the Netherlands, the Data and Analitics Centre (DAC) of the Dutch Association of Insurers can make an initial estimate of the damage. If the storm mainly has a local character, then this is not possible. If an estimate can be made, it is largely based on historical damage data. We do know how much damage previous storms have caused. By combining these historical data with factors such as the weather and the day of the week, we can make a (conservative) estimate. Increasingly better warnings are also possible. Coupled with measures, this has a dampening effect on the damage.
Is the number of storms in the Netherlands increasing?
Based on future scenarios of the KNMI, it is expected that extreme rain, hail and drought will increase due to climate change. Climate change seems to have less influence on storms with extreme gusts of wind. Worldwide, insurers see the consequences of climate change reflected in their figures.