Insurance claims from storm and flooding damage hits €46m

The cost of insurance claims relating to storm damage and flooding in December and early January was a

bout €46 million, according to the industry group Insurance Ireland.

It said more than 5,800 household claims had already been submitted to its members, totalling about €19.5 million, as a result of the severe weather, which caused extensive damage to property, particularly on the west and south coasts.

The total number of claims for damage to commercial property was 2,225, amounting to €24 million, and the total number of claims for damage to cars and other vehicles was 560, amounting to more than €2.5 million.

The figures were published yesterday as the Government announced €70 million in funding for local authorities to cover the cost of storm damage.

Humanitarian fund

The funding, which is in addition to €25 million humanitarian fund already announced for victims of the floods, includes €16.2 million for restoration of damaged roads, €19.6 million for repair of existing coastal protection infrastructure, €7 million for piers and harbours that have been damaged and €6 million for tourism infrastructure.

Insurance Ireland said it was "working proactively" with the Office of Public Works to help deal with the issues arising from the flood events.

As part of this, it said it hoped to sign a memorandum of understanding with the OPW in the coming weeks, which will see the State body sharing flood defence data with it for the first time.

Insurance Ireland said the move would enable insurance companies take this data into account when assessing flood risk.

"We are confident we can reach agreement quickly with the OPW to enable the sharing of information which will help our members make flood insurance more widely available," said chief executive of Insurance Ireland Kevin Thompson.

“In the meantime, insurers are working hard to ensure that policyholders who have been affected by the recent storms and flooding have their claims handled as quickly as possible.”

“With further storms possible, we also advise people in areas at risk of further flooding to take precautions to try to prevent further damage to their property.”