New Year’s damage estimate placed at 10 million euros

The damage caused to cars and homes around the turn of the new year is estimated at around 10 million euros, the Dutch Association of Insurers reported on Tuesday. This concerns damage to the property of private individuals, and does not include damages to public locations, like bus shelters.

As such, a more complete damage estimate will be higher, because they have not factored in medical costs and business insurance claims. The insurers expect to pay out approximately 8 million euros for damage to homes and content this year, and another 2 million euros for damage to cars.

The New Year's damage estimate for the 2020-2021 period was approximately 8.5 million euros. Like the recent holiday, there was also a national fireworks ban a year ago. During the 2019-2020 New Year’s period, estimated damages totaled 14 million euros.

The damage caused during the recent New Year's Eve period is comparable to a “normal” New Year's Eve without either a fireworks ban or coronavirus restrictions. During a more normal turn of the new year, the private damage total is typically between 10 and 15 million euros, the insurers said. "Due to the mild weather conditions, many people were out and about last year, and more legal and illegal fireworks were set off than last year, when there was also a ban," said association director Richard Weurding.

The volume of fireworks-related claims increased again this year. For example, fireworks played a role in 43 percent of the total number of fires during the New Year. Last year this was still 20 percent, according to the insurers.

Stichting Salvage, a nonprofit group offering initial assistance to insured persons on behalf of all fire insurers, noted a 56 percent increase in reports compared to a year earlier. That largely brought the figure back to a point comparable with the 2019-2020 New Year’s period.

Weurding stated on Radio 1 that a fireworks ban alone is not sufficient, but that enforcement should also be carefully considered. People also need to have an alternative to setting off their own explosives, such as organized fireworks shows.