German insured flood damage estimated at €2 billion

Recent floods in southern Germany are expected to cost insurers €2 billion ($2.2 billion) in damages, insurers said on Friday.

The German Insurance Association (GDV) said this was an initial assessment after heavy rains battered the states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.

"Because the floods on the Danube in particular have not yet subsided, this estimate is still subject to a certain degree of uncertainty," said GDV managing director Jörg Asmussen.

The GDV estimate did not include damage to uninsured property. The total damage is far higher because many people are not insured against floods.

Parts of southern Germany experienced a quantity of rainfall seen only once every 50 to 100 years. Six people died in the flooding. 

What is the extent of the damage?

The floods damaged homes, businesses, infrastructure and farmland across the south of Germany.

Baden-Württemberg's Agriculture Minister Peter Hauk said more than 95,000 hectares of farmland in the state had been damaged — roughly the size of 133,000 football pitches.

Meanwhile, Bavarian Farmers' Association spokesperson Markus Drexler said the floods destroyed "large parts of this year's harvest."

"The damage to agricultural crops such as grain, beet, potatoes and corn, but also to specialty crops such as field vegetables, strawberries and raspberries, is on a scale that is currently impossible to quantify," Drexler said.

Separate from the insured damage, Bavaria has also allocated €100 million to deal with uninsured damage.

zc/nm (dpa, AFP)