Damage to houses is CHF 650 million
The storms in June and July caused damage to houses amounting to CHF 650 million. This is the first assessment made by the Association of Cantonal Building Insurance.
Damage to buildings amounting to CHF 650 million has arisen due to the strong thunderstorms and rainfall in recent weeks. The Association of Cantonal Building Insurance Companies draws this first balance as of July 27, according to a media release . The association points out that in 19 of the 26 cantons the cantonal building insurance covers the repair costs.
It also informs that homeowners in those cantons in which cantonal building insurance (KGV) is mandatory are automatically insured against natural hazards such as flooding. "The KGV insurance coverage is fully guaranteed even in the event of major events such as those of the last few weeks."
The association also provides building owners with online maps on which they can see how endangered their location is, for example from hail, floods and surface runoff. Accordingly, they could take these natural hazards into account when renovating and building new ones.
Local heavy rain had led to flooding in early July. Parts of southwest Germany and Belgium were particularly hard hit, with numerous fatalities and destroyed houses and streets. In Switzerland there was only property damage. However, the building insurance of the Canton of Zurich asks its customers to be patient on its website, due to an "extraordinarily large number of incoming damage reports".