Throughout the morning of Tuesday, the 8th of August, insurance claims were being received every minute, reports insurance company BALTA (PZU Group). The number of insurance claims received as of 11:00 a.m. was 167. 87 of them were KASKO-related and 80 property insurance-related.
Insurance claims for damages caused by the thunderstorms exceed EUR 315 000. BALTA representatives say the real costs will be assessed in the second half of the week, because insurance claims keep coming in. Already it is possible the total amount may reach half a million euros.
“Compared with the biggest thunderstorms of the previous years, customers’ cars seem to have suffered the most this time. Photos sent by clients show that some cars were damaged by falling trees or hail. The damages suffered are severe. Vehicles may need to be written off. Other clients reported damage caused to the roofs, facades and support buildings. There are a clients whose entire owned and insured property was damaged.
We have also received multiple sowing insurance claims. The volume of losses is being determined now,” says BALTA Property Insurance Claims Administration manager Ainārs Puķe.
The majority of insurance claims – nearly half – were received from Dobele county. Many insurance claims were received from Tērvete, Tukums, Talsi, Brocēni and Augšdaugava.
According to BALTA representative, currently it is the company’s objective provide operational assistance to its clients.
“Rescue efforts have commenced – in cooperation with our partners or client-picked contractors, the installation of temporary roofs has started at 10 locations. For clients unable to stay in their home we provide coverage of temporary housing rent fees. In more than ten cases we have installed temporary windows for KASKO clients. Clients who picked a specific coverage plan are provided with a car to replace their damaged one.
The number of calls received in the past 24 hours increased by more than half and we are working hard to help our clients to return to their normal day-to-day lives as soon as possible,” says Puķe.
BALTA representative notes that KASKO insurance claims have also been received from clients whose vehicles were located in Lithuania yesterday, where the thunderstorm struck especially hard.
“The damages caused by the thunderstorm in Lithuania may even be greater, because BALTA’s subsidiary Lietuvos Draudimas received more than 1 200 insurance claims in the morning on Tuesday. More than 90% of them are insurance claims for property damages. In Estonia the thunderstorm raged on the night to Monday and Tuesday,” said Puķe.
Also read: Several injured and one dead in recent thunderstorm in Latvia