About 275 New Year’s property damage reports filed with insurers so far

Three top insurance companies in the Netherlands have received about 275 reports of damage from incidents taking place around the turn of the New Year. Clients filed a total of about 150 damage claims with Nationale-Nederlanden (NN), while Univé received 96, and ASR was sent another 20 to 30 more. Univé estimates that the amount of damage reported to that insurer is 175,000 euros.

The Dutch Association of Insurers expects to come up with an initial estimate of the total damage for insurers next week. During New Year's Eve of 2023, the trade association thought in an initial estimate that private individuals had suffered at least 8 million euros in damage due to fireworks. That was less than the estimated 10 million euros in damage the previous New Year's Eve.

The volume of damage claims submitted to Univé is relatively low, a spokesperson said. “It is not too bad, because it has been higher on some New Year’s Eves,” he explained. The company does not expect the final damage estimate to be above 200,000 euros, based on the early reports.

At the same time, one residence suffered so much damage that it is currently uninhabitable. Fire damage was the primary issue reported from homes, commercial properties, and vehicles insured by Univé. A barn and a shed also burned down, possibly due to fireworks, the spokesperson said.

People have reported damage to or in their homes to ASR, sometimes related to fireworks. According to a spokeswoman, it is not yet known what exactly was damaged. She expects the number of claims for damage around New Year's Eve to increase further. "Advisors have not yet processed or passed on all reports," she explained. The insurer received 50 reports during the first three days of last year.

Nationale-Nederlanden (NN) was the first insurance company to report the damage reports of New Year’s Eve on Wednesday afternoon. Around 20 people had filed a direct claim with the group at that moment, which is around 10 to 15 fewer than a year before.

NN also carries the labels ING Insurance, SNS Insurance, OHRA, and ABN AMRO Insurance and is, therefore, one of the larger non-life insurers in the Netherlands. Allianz hopes to have figures on the number of claims around New Year's Eve on Thursday afternoon.