The Easter weekend storm had major consequences for both road and train traffic. Now insurance companies are also starting to get a picture of the material damage to homeowners around the country. TT has been in contact with some insurance companies, which report receiving a large number of claims.
For Trygg-Hansa, about 300 cases had been reported up to and including Monday morning.
– The storm has affected the entire area, from the West Coast up towards Örebro, says Håkan Franzén, insurance expert at Trygg-Hansa.
A halving
Folksam, in turn, received around 50 storm-related cases during its on-call hours. Based on previous storms that have hit Sweden, Dave is estimated to generate a total of 500 claims, says Tobias Håkansson, section manager for property damage at Folksam.
This would be roughly half as many as during winter storm Johannes.
When we look at the storm force in the gusts, Dave and Johannes are on par with each other, but the affected regions are smaller now than they were during Johannes. This simply means that there is a difference in the damage influx, explains Tobias Håkansson.
At Trygg-Hansa, they currently do not rule out that it could be as extensive as during Johannes.
Johannes was quite extreme. At that time we had around 700 registrations. Whether we reach similar levels is too early to say at the moment, assesses Håkan Franzén.
Roof damage
Both insurance companies report mainly roof damage and damage where trees have blown down onto properties. Many are also contacting their insurance companies about households being without power for an extended period.
A common type of claim is when people contact us seeking compensation for spoiled food. However, in this case, you should first contact your electricity company, says Tobias Håkansson.
Facts: Storm and insurance
If your house or belongings are damaged in a storm, you may be able to receive compensation from your home insurance policy. Typically, wind speeds of at least 21 m/s are considered a storm.
If the storm damages the roof, roof tiles, or roofing sheeting, you may be eligible for compensation. In the case of damage to plaster or chimney cladding, compensation is paid if these were hit by objects that were blown over or torn loose and subsequently damaged the house.
For storm damage, you will normally have to pay a deductible of a couple of thousand kronor. This amount can vary depending on the insurance company.
Source: Consumers.
