The Irish Insurance Federation (IIF) today announced that the estimated total insured cost of last October’s floods is €127m. Many homes and businesses suffered substantial damage as a result of the flooding that mostly affected the East Coast, in particular Dublin. This was the fourth costliest weather event to affect the country, and the second largest flood event ever according to IIF data.

Michael Horan, Non-Life Manager, IIF said, ‘The October floods caused significant destruction during a very short time frame and insurers worked with customers to ensure they were back on track as fast as possible. 6,703 customers were affected during this period and the total cost of claims amounted to €127m. This money was injected back into the economy creating employment through repair work carried out to homes and businesses’. 

The breakdown of claims and costs by class of business is as follows:

• €58m in household claims (3,532 claims),
• €59m in commercial property claims (1,251 claims),
• €10m in motor claims (1,920 claims).

The cost of this flood event is the fourth largest weather-related loss in Ireland after the January 2010 freeze (€297m), the 2009 floods (€244m) and the December 2010 freeze (€224m). These four events, all of which have occurred over the past two years, have cost €892m and are a graphic illustration of how the Irish insurance industry protects millions of people against financial loss.

“The October 2011 and November 2009 floods highlight the importance of adequate investment in flood defences in vulnerable areas. Action needs to be taken now in these areas so that flood damage is minimised in future”, said Mr Horan.