A flood devastated large areas of Bavaria in 2013, including the Fischerdorf district of Deggendorf, where the water rose up to four meters high. Two weeks after the disaster, more than 500 victims met in the Deggendorf town hall, most of them from Fischerdorf. The residents, still exhausted from the disaster, shared harrowing stories about flooded streets, destroyed buildings and lost household goods, recalls Sascha Straub, financial expert at the Bavarian Consumer Advice Center.
At the time of the flood, less than 20 percent of victims had natural hazard insurance, which corresponded to the insurance coverage in Bavaria at the time. Since then, the figure has risen to around 41 percent. However, this also means that 59 percent do not have such insurance. According to the Bavarian consumer advice center, this percentage is below the national average, while at the same time the number of severe weather events is increasing. Sascha Straub points out that many insurers will now only offer residential building insurance with natural hazard cover for new policies and that new buildings in flood areas may no longer be insurable in the future.
Property owners who need natural hazard insurance or have specific questions on the subject can seek advice from the staff at the consumer advice center. They help to determine individual insurance requirements, review existing insurance policies and provide support with the termination of existing policies. Further information can be found on the website of the Bavarian Consumer Advice Center and in the free e-book "Unwetter Gebäude-Check".verbraucherzentrale-bayern.de
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