10,000 smoke detectors gifted by BTA to its customers; fire-related indemnities in recent years up to 1,3 million euros

As the Cabinet regulations require each dwelling have smoke detectors installed as of 1 January 2020, BTA Baltic Insurance Company AAS (BTA) distributed 10,000 thousand smoke detectors free of charge as part of BTA’s Home insurance campaign, announced BTA Insurance Claims Handling Department Director Kārlis Liepiņš.

Fire safety in premises is very significant, as a minor carelessness or technical malfunction can result in tragic consequences, emphasizes K. Liepiņš. Property gets damaged, valuable things perish, while the most disastrous effects a fire can cause to humans and domestic animals. The requirement of the Cabinet regulations is to have at least one smoke detector installed in each apartment and each floor of a private house.

For the past three years, BTA has disbursed 1.3 million euros in insurance indemnities for fire disasters. This amount in 2017 was 328,283 euros, in 2018 – 363,092 euros, and in 2019 – as much as 675,997 euros, thus, the total amount disbursed last year is nearly double that in previous periods. 

The State Firefighting and Rescue Service also reminds of the requirement of smoke detectors and advises not to put your life, health and property at risk.

Analysis of the Service’s statistics on fires in residential houses, conclusions were that in approximately half of fire casualties had died not because of burns, but of intoxication from smoke, resulting from household items and furniture burning, informs the State Firefighting and Rescue Service.

Also, a large part of the deceased had suffocated or burned while being in their bedrooms. A practical solution to reduce the quantity of such casualties, is equipping residential premises with technical devices, which would alert people to an occurring fire disaster and thus allow them to manage to escape the burning premises. The most effective technical solution for protection of people against fire is to fit the apartment with autonomous smoke detectors, activated by smoke.

About BTA

BTA Baltic Insurance Company is one of the leading insurance companies in the Baltics, offering the broadest range of non-life insurance services in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. BTA employs more than 1,000 employees in the Baltics. The largest shareholder of BTA is Vienna Insurance Group AG with close to 200 years of experience in the insurance business. With about 50 companies in 25 countries and more than 25,000 employees, Vienna Insurance Group is a clear market leader in its CEE markets. Vienna Insurance Group is the best-rated company of ATX, the leading index of Vienna Stock Exchange with a rating of A+ with stable outlook from Standard & Poor’s; its share is also listed on the Prague Stock Exchange.

Additional information:

Elīna Rasmane

Marketing and Public Relations Department Director

BTA Baltic Insurance Company AAS

e-mail elina.rasmane@bta.lv