Insurance companies, what does Unipol do against earthquakes and floods in Emilia-Romagna?
The latest moves by the Bolognese group Unipol between Starlink, Twitter and protests by entrepreneurs in Emilia-Romagna against the companies which – according to rumors collected by the confindustria newspaper Sole 24 Ore – do not insure against earthquakes and floods
There are numerous initiatives that the insurance companies have put in place, trumpeting them from the rooftops, in support of the populations affected by the flood that brought Emilia Romagna to its knees. The National Association of Insurance Companies (Ania) has given indications to the companies on the measures to adopt to help policyholders residing in flooded areas. In particular, the various companies are requested to extend the term of conduct, i.e. the extension of the expiry of the insurance contract. Furthermore, it would be desirable to maintain the insurance guarantee in force even in the event of late payment and at the same time suspend the recovery of credits and avoid objecting to prescriptions and forfeitures accrued after the flood. "In such a difficult moment it is important that everyone does their part to support the needs of the entire population," the statement reads.
INSURANCE INITIATIVES FOR EMILIA ROMAGNA
Taking a quick overview, strictly in alphabetical order, it turns out that Allianz has set up a task force to deal with complaints related to the catastrophic event as a priority and has also activated the protocol for businesses and entrepreneurs with immediate actions to support their activity. In the same way, the exceptions on payment times were applied.
The Generali group also announced that it has extended its initiatives to support customers and agents in the areas affected by the new flood, in particular by setting up the toll-free number 800 867 222, dedicated to information and claims reports related to this specific situation.
Reale Mutua has currently set up a dedicated toll-free number (800 08480) to request information and build a comparison report on any further requests and needs of residents of the Emilia and Romagna areas.
UnipolSai, in addition to announcing that it has purchased the Starlink terminals with the collaboration of Elon Musk to be allocated to the rescuers in service in Emilia-Romagna, has said it is ready to facilitate the management of claims, to grant significant extensions and deferments and to provide adequate and timely responses , by activating the toll-free number (800 754646).
WHAT'S WRONG
All right, in short. Not exactly. Because if you dig down, not only in the mud that has submerged everything, but also in the midst of the discontent of entrepreneurs, other versions of reality emerge. Il Sole 24 Ore collected them. “We are small but we are not inexperienced, we are all covered by insurance but the companies exclude earthquakes and floods from the general contracts”, seems to be the mantra of the injured.
The Confindustria newspaper also recalls how Italy boasts one of the most significant protection gaps in the world. These are the words used by Swiss Re analysts to photograph the situation in the country, a situation in stark contrast to the fragility shown by the territory in the face of increasingly frequent catastrophic events that affect it. Getting to the point of the matter, or rather the numbers: between 2011 and 2021 Italy discounted losses related to natural disasters for 58.1 billion dollars, of which only 6.3 billion were covered by the policy. The bill for the country was therefore over 51 billion dollars in 10 years. “With a protection gap close to 89%. A situation that does not occur in any other country in Europe. If we look at a much wider period, Germany faced damages between 1980 and 2020 for 107.6 billion euros and of these just under 40 billion were insured, therefore with a gap of 63%. France 99 billion of which 40.2 billion charged to the companies for a differential of 59%.”
And then let's go back to that quotation mark, that "We are small but we are not clueless, we are all covered by insurance but the companies exclude earthquakes and floods from the general contracts" which probably captures the contingent situation and the discouragement of the people of Romagna even better than the numbers. Davide Servadei , president of Confartigianato Emilia-Romagna and owner of the historic Bottega d'Arte Ceramica Gatti, a family business founded 95 years ago by his great-uncle, told the notebooks of the Sun , up to his hair covered in mud.
“Out of about sixty ceramic craft companies, there are around ten like me and calculating that from Bologna to Rimini Confartigianato represents 20,000 entrepreneurs, there will be a few thousand companies damaged”. In his case “It will be from 500 to 700 thousand euros of lost value. I had included the floods as coverage when I took out the insurance for the shed at the end of April, but when this tragedy began, the 20 days had not yet passed for the coverage to become effective”. Let's hope that the insurance companies, in addition to many promises, will move to be more flexible even in the face of similar cases.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/assicurazioni-cosa-fa-unipol-contro-terremoti-e-alluvioni-in-emilia-romagna/ on Wed, 24 May 2023 07:51:21 +0000.