Storm damage claims surge after weekend of severe weather across the Netherlands

Insurers are reporting an increase in claims after last weekend’s severe storms, which caused widespread disruption across the Netherlands. On Saturday evening, a nationwide code orange alert was issued for heavy thunderstorms, with some regions hit by large hail and strong winds.

Interpolis and Centraal Beheer have together received roughly 2,600 claims related to the recent severe weather, the insurers reported. The number of reports increased significantly on Monday, which a spokesperson said is partly because storm damage is not always immediately visible and is often only reported days later.

Most of the damage being reported involves hail and lightning, including broken skylights and damaged vehicles. The majority of claims are coming from the area between Utrecht and Amsterdam.

NN, which includes brands such as Nationale-Nederlanden, ING Insurance, OHRA, ASN Insurance, and ABN Amro Insurance, also saw a rise in claims on Monday morning, according to a spokesperson.

OHRA, ING Insurance, ASN, and NN have together recorded around 950 claims so far, while ABN Amro Insurance has received about 400. According to a spokesperson, most of the damage is caused by hail. Relatively high numbers of reports have come in from Hilversum and the Flevoland region.

Centraal Beheer and Interpolis recorded nearly double the number of claims last weekend compared with the previous weekend, which also saw severe storms in the Netherlands. NN likewise reported an increase in claims compared with the week before.