June in Poland is dominated by violent storms and downpours. Their consequences have hit the inhabitants of southern Poland, in particular Bielsko-Biała where a flash flood has occurred. On 19 June, firefighters intervened more than one thousand times in Silesia. We remind you how to report a claim and how to take care of the effects of storms. We also remind you that insurance is an effective financial tool that compensates for the losses caused by storms.
Insurance is reliable financial assistance in such situations
Insurers activate rapid loss adjustment paths in widespread loss situations. They contact their customers in the area and send mobile loss adjusters to collect information needed to pay compensation as soon as possible. They also often pay advances immediately to help those financially affected in their most urgent expenditures.
Piotr Adamczyk, Director of Agro and Property Claims Settlement Department, Generali Polska:
‘On Wednesday, Poland was hit by violent storms with heavy rain and strong wind. The inhabitants of Silesia, including Racibórz, have been particularly affected. Most reports refer to flooding, flooding of cellars and other premises, overvoltage, but also ripped off roofs and damage to cars. As always in such situations, we try to act to help our customers and pay compensation as soon as possible. In the case of minor damage, the injured party may also settle it themselves – enter all data on the website or in the application after receiving a link, respond to the questions contained therein, and receive funds to the indicated bank account within 48 hours. We have also sent experts to Racibórz to estimate the damage on site’.
Zbigniew Baranowski, Media Relations Director, PZU:
‘Mobile PZU experts will help their customers affected in storms in Silesia
After the storm that occurred on 19 June, PZU immediately implemented the pre-service process and identified the persons insured at PZU who reside in the areas affected by the damage. From early morning, the insurer’s staff team had contacted more than a hundred insured persons to determine whether they needed help. The persons who reported the damage will be handled on site by the PZU mobile experts and the PZU Pomoc Mobile Office, available from Friday, 21 June. At the same time, PZU is launching a simplified claims settlement procedure’.
Maciej Krzysztoszek, Uniqa:
‘Our experts monitor the country’s weather situation on an ongoing basis. We identify the municipalities affected by violent lightning discharges. We send a text message to our customers who reside in these areas with a reminder of their insurance cover and a link directly to the claim reporting form. We attempt to give priority to these reports because in some cases the payment of compensation or assistance directly on the spot is of particular importance during the first hours after the damage occurred’.
How to act in the event of storms? How to report a loss?
The Polish Chamber of Insurance reminds us of the general rules of conduct when our property has been damaged as a result of extreme weather events and how to report a claim to the insurer:
- Protect the property against further destruction.
- If you need to repair the property quickly in order to protect it – do so; the insurer will reimburse the costs of the necessary work. Remember to keep receipts for the repairs.
- If possible, take photographs of the damage . Photos taken with a mobile phone are sufficient.
- You can clean the house and the area around it, but leave the damaged items in one place until the insurer’s appraiser arrives. However, do not carry out renovations without consulting the insurer.
- Immediately report a claim to the insurer – via its website or by telephone – you can find the number on the policy, at your agent or on the insurer’s website. Prepare the policy and bank account numbers prior to the phone call. Inform the insurer what has happened exactly and if you have taken photographs.
- After reporting the claim, your insurer will provide you with detailed information about the further proceedings.
And before the next storm…
- Track weather forecasts. Look out for anything that may harm your property – storms, heavy rainfall, strong winds, etc.
- Abide by RCB alerts. Secure the items you keep outside and those which may be carried away by the wind. Close windows and doors. Unplug the radio and TV equipment. Ensure that your car is not in a hollow in the ground or beneath trees. Stay at home if you can.
- If the storm catches you away from home, seek safe shelter. Stop in a motorway service area (MOP) or at a petrol station while on a motorway. Do not pull over on the side of the road or b a flyover.
- Perform house inspections on a regular basis. Pay particular attention to the roof, gutters and other equipment designed to drain water. Check the condition of the lightning protection system. Do not forget to maintain order on the property on a daily basis.
- Check your insurance policy, and if you do not have it – buy one. Pay attention to its scope and ensure that it covers not only walls and fixed elements of the house, but also movables (e.g. large household appliances, radio and TV equipment, furniture). Determine the appropriate sum insured which will allow you to rebuild your house or buy a flat of a similar standard in extreme circumstances. Remember that the value of your property may increase – take this into account when renewing the insurance contract. Contact an agent.
The frequency of dangerous weather events will increase
One of the effects of climate change that we particularly feel in Poland is the increasing incidence of violent weather events; they are mostly short-term, but they cause a lot of damage. Rainstorms, hailstorms and strong wind can destroy our houses in a few minutes.
According to the report of PIU entitled ‘Poles and Risks – How do we insure ourselves? The insurance gap in Poland’, the average annual loss due to extreme events in Europe for the period between 2011 and 2020 was EUR 15.9 billion and in 2021 alone increased to EUR 59.4 billion. In 2022, it amounted to EUR 52.3 billion. In 2020, insurers recorded 60 events which caused damage worth PLN 762 million. One year later, the number of natural disasters increased to 66 and the value of damage – to PLN 994 million.
– We cannot ignore climate change. One calmer summer does not mean that we can forget about it. Unfortunately, there are no rules here. This year, first, we had a wave of frost, of which farmers and fruit growers reported more than 20,000 claims already in May, and then flooding in the south of Poland. Now the storms and hailstorms in Silesia. In this situation, insurance is an effective compensation mechanism for losses. Preventive action is also needed to minimise the risk of major damage. These measures are taken by the state and local governments, but we should also adapt to the violent weather ourselves. For example, let’s react to alerts, secure items that may be carried away by wind, and regularly take care of the technical condition of our buildings – says Agnieszka Durska, spokeswoman of the Polish Chamber of Insurance.
We still have too little insurance cover
73% of Poles believe that climate change affects everyone to the same extent. The respondents considered the occurrence of strong wind and hurricane (75%) to be their greatest concerns related to nature. 48% are afraid of flooding. Public awareness of climate change is growing.
The attitude of Poles to this risk translates into their approach to insurance. 71% of single-family buildings are insured against hurricane and 63% – against flooding. In 2022, on average half of the total real property in Poland was protected by insurance against disaster risk, such as flooding or strong wind.
– These figures show that many Poles are aware of the need for insurance. However, we are far away from Sweden where as many as 97% of inhabitants hold house and flat insurance policies – adds Agnieszka Durska.
PIU believes that each owner of real property should take care of the insurance coverage of their property. The purchase of a policy involves a relatively small cost in relation to possible losses – e.g. renovation of the entire house or its reconstruction after a major disaster. A well-chosen insurance can cover all unforeseen expenses.
Moreover, even the insured real property may have an insufficient sum insured. The insurance gap, i.e. a situation where the sum insured does not reflect the real value of the insured property, is one of the greatest problems of the industry, the insured, but also the entire market. Consequently, in the event of losses, the compensation paid may not cover all the costs incurred. Disaster damage is an important component of the gap in property insurance. As stated by the Polish Chamber of Insurance in the report entitled ‘Poles and Risk – How do we insure ourselves?’, the insurance gap for Poland in securing against natural disasters in 2022 amounted to PLN 1.3 billion. It is therefore worth updating the sum insured on an ongoing basis, especially after a period of persistent high inflation. This will ensure that in the event of a disaster, the compensation amount will easily allow us to renovate or rebuild our house.
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Powódź błyskawiczna – rozmowa z Rafałem Mańkowskim, dyrektorem ds. ubezpieczeń majątkowych w PIU
