"Estimated total economic losses of the devastating May 2014 floods came to staggering EUR 1.5 billion, which represents 4.5% of Serbia's GDP. Low penetration of insurance was evident in the amount of insured losses that were less than EUR 40 million," recently stated for XPRIMM a representative of the National Bank of Serbia. Beyond the important impact that this discrepancy between the total losses and the volume covered by insurance had on the Serbian economy, this piece of information is also relevant for the significant Nat Cat protection gap in the young European insurance markets.

Other examples are also relevant:

• Albania is highly exposed at the earthquake and floods risks, two phenomenon which recorded increasing frequency and intensity in the last years. Yet, "according to recent surveys, only 1-2 dwellings out of 100 have private cover from natural disasters," told XPRIMM Enkeleda SHAHI, head of the Albanian FSA;
• The recent catastrophic floods in Croatia unfortunately confirmed the insufficient consumer awareness, both individuals and businesses, about the necessity of insurance. Only 20% of the properties in the flooded area were insured, and only a small number of them had the flood risk insured. It is estimated that only one in five private owners insure their house or apartment, and estimates for businesses are similarly discouraging," said Hrvoje PAUKOVIC, President of the Croatian Insurance Bureau;
• "In Slovakia it is estimated that uninsured property is still about 40%. A significant part of the property is underinsured due policies closed many years ago", representatives of the Slovak Insurance Association said.
  

In fact, the situation is more or less common for all the CEE countries, with only a few exceptions as Hungary or the Czech Republic.

The extreme weather events recorded during the last years raised the authorities concern with regard to the Nat Cat protection measures. In some countries debates about the opportunity of developing a mandatory insurance tool for the most relevant Nat Cat risks are already ongoing from some years. Other countries, as Romania or Turkey, have already put in place mandatory schemes, but their efficiency is still questionable, although efforts to improve it were made. In the Adriatic region, the multi national solution proposed by EUROPA Re is making steps forward, but its efficiency is not yet visible in terms and coverage and was really never put to test by the "real" events.

In this context, the forthcoming edition of IIF 2015 - Property Insurance in a Stormy Era is focused on a major topic - property insurance as a tool of preserving customers' financial stability in the context of escalating occurrence and intensity of the weather catastrophic events -, taking into consideration both the future trends and the most relevant past experiences.

The event will take place in Munich, on June 22nd - 23rd, benefitting from the expertise of some of the most relevant entities specialized in assessing and managing Nat Cat risks worldwide. Attendance is free of charge, limited places available.

All relevant detailed are available on the event's website: www.internationalinsuranceforum.com/prop/

Organizers
With the kind support of
Media coverage