Last year, insurers paid out over €100 million for damage caused by flooding and heavy rain alone, the insurers’ organisation Verbond van Verzekeraars said in its annual climate damage monitor.
The total amount paid out due to extreme weather in 2024 was €280 million, the monitor showed, with a peak in July when the homes of dozens of people in Enschedé were deemed permanently unfit to live in because of severe damage caused by torrential rain.
The insurers said the politicians should be more aware of the risks of extreme weather.
“New builds, but older homes as well, should be made climate adaptive to cope with heavy downpours which can be very local,” director Richard Weurding told RTL Nieuws. Weurding said a new cabinet should look to introduce legislation to that effect.
“If you look at the 22 years the monitor has been in place, 2024 does not stand out as the most turbulent. But the peaks are getting higher and the damage from the changing climate greater,” he said.
2022 was a peak year for insurers, when three severe storms in a row boosted claims to almost €1 billion.
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