Insurance companies prepare for latest Greek wildfire claims
22/08/2024
Insurance companies are bracing themselves for the latest round of claims for damage caused by the wildfires in Greece.
Greece has dealt with over 3,500 fires since May, a nearly 50 per cent increase from the same period in 2023 when it recorded 2,300 blazes.
Compensation payable by insurance companies for property damage inflicted during the wildfires in the summer of 2023 was estimated at almost €49 million – the largest on record – according to a report compiled by the Hellenic Association of Insurance Companies (HAIC).
Data provided by insurance companies for the report showed a total of 403 claims were registered and the amount is the largest on record to be paid out in Greece for damage during forest fires.
The latest fires were fuelled by hot, windy weather which contributed to burned trees, houses and cars and sent smoke clouds over the Greek capital of Athens. More than 400 firefighters backed by 16 waterbombing planes and 13 helicopters battled the fires.
Hundreds of wildfires have broken out across Greece since May and scientists attribute their frequency and intensity to the increasingly hot and dry weather conditions linked to climate change. Fires have also burned this summer amid extreme heat elsewhere in Europe, including in Spain and the Balkans.
In April, a European Commission report said the 2023 wildfire season in the Europe was among the worst this century. According to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) wildfires cost Europe an estimated €4.1 billion in damages in 2023. Greece suffered the most damage, with an estimated cost of €1.66 billion
The EU Civil Protection Mechanism, which pools resources such as planes and firefighters dispatched from other member states when a government requests assistance in case of a natural disaster, has been activated 29 times this year in response to extreme weather ranging from wildfires to landslides, compared with 23 in the whole of 2023, according to European Commission.
In November last year the HAIC reported that compensation for property damage caused by storms and flooding triggered by Storm Daniel in Greece was estimated to exceed €372 million.
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