According to the General Association of the German Insurance Industry (GDV), thunderstorms caused more damage to houses and household goods in 2021 than a year earlier. “The insurers paid around 200 million euros for 210,000 lightning and surge damages,” says Jörg Asmussen, GDV General Manager. The amount of damage has increased by 20 million euros compared to 2020. The number of damages has increased by 30,000.
Insurers pay an average of 960 euros per damage. “The average loss has fallen for the third year in a row, but is significantly higher than in the years before 2018,” says Asmussen. The reason: With the technically better equipped households, the average damage is also increasing. “Typical lightning damage is destroyed roof surfaces, doors or windows as well as overvoltage damage, such as burnt sockets, defective computers or telephone systems,” says Asmussen. Overvoltage damage occurs when high overvoltages enter the house via the mains connection or the antenna.
Danger of lightning highest in June
According to VdS and BLIDS (Lightning Information Service from Siemens), more than 490,000 so-called cloud-to-ground lightning bolts were registered last year. More than half of these were counted in June. The danger was lowest in February with 43 cloud-to-ground flashes.
This insurance pays for lightning damage
Residential building insurance is liable after a lightning strike for damage to the roof, masonry or overvoltage damage to permanently installed electrical installations such as heating controls. However, surge damage is not automatically covered by a home or household contents policy. They must be additionally insured. Clean-up work and securing the property, on the other hand, are included in home building insurance. Household contents insurance covers damage to movable property in the apartment or house. These include computers, televisions or other technical devices.
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