Berlin breathes a sigh of relief: damage caused by storms is falling drastically!

Berlin breathes a sigh of relief: damage caused by storms is falling drastically!

In 2024, there was a decrease in damage from natural disasters in Berlin. Heavy rain, hail and floods caused less damage in the capital compared to 2023. The insurance industry reported insured natural hazard losses for Berlin amounting to around 39 million euros, which corresponds to a decrease compared to the 46 million euros from 2023, according to the Time reported.

A large part of the damage in Berlin, around 14 million euros, can be attributed to storms and hailstorms. Insurers also paid around 7 million euros for damage caused by heavy rain and flooding. Damage to vehicles amounted to 18 million euros. Please note that the total damage in Berlin may be higher as not all damage is insured.

Nationwide comparison

In a nationwide comparison, Berlin had comparatively low damage from natural hazards. Insured losses in the federal states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg amounted to around 1.6 billion euros each. In Brandenburg, too, the insured amount of damage was more than twice as high as in Berlin, which underlines the relative safety of the capital with regard to natural events.

Overall, the claims expenditure incurred by the German insurance industry over the last 50 years for damage caused by natural catastrophes amounts to over 200 billion euros. The total claims expenses of property and motor vehicle insurers between 1973 and 2022 amount to 233 billion euros, which corresponds to around half of the federal budget for 2023, as stated in the natural hazards report GDV is presented.

Jörg Asmussen, General Manager of the General Association of the German Insurance Industry, emphasizes the economic challenges that climate change poses for society. The current GDV natural hazards report highlights the long-term consequences of climate change and offers a comprehensive statistics section with facts about natural hazard damage. New this year is the digital integration of all data on damage caused by storms, hail, lightning and other natural hazards, which can be accessed on the website www.gdv.de/statistics.

The report also includes contributions from climate scientists and climate sociologists discussing tipping points and the impact of climate change on urban society. This shows the urgency with which politicians and the insurance industry must address these issues in order to minimize future damage and losses.