The severe wind gusts that have hit Latvia in recent days have given a good threshing to buildings in several regions of Latvia and tossed various objects on cars, causing a total loss of more than 200 thousand euros, according to BTA Baltic Insurance Company AAS (hereinafter – BTA).

More than 120 claims were submitted to the insurer on Friday, Saturday and Monday alone. To name some of the severest damage, it was the peeled-off roofing surfaces of the root-crops pavilion at the Riga Central Market and two other buildings in Riga – at Raina Boulevard and Skolas Street. Repairs of at least 10 thousand euros will be required to fix each such mischief of the nature.

Roof has been damaged in several farmsteads in most random spots of the country – in Jelgava region, Jūrmala, Ventspils, Aizkraukle region, Ķekava and elsewhere. The wind has torn off metal sheets of sloping roofs and peeled off the Ruberoid layer on flat roofs. The gusts have also torn down fragments of fences, windbreakers around stadiums and made unattached trampolines airborne. Most often they have landed in a neighbouring yard, damaging buildings, cars or breaking trees. Storm damage toll includes lighting poles, buildings doors, fence gates.

“Storm is one of those natural disasters that you cannot really be well prepared, it is extremely difficult, nevertheless, some preparations can be done to reduce the potential damage. For example, to timely disassemble trampolines in the autumn, as well as tents, canopies and greenhouses. They are hardly ever used in the winter, while these large, poorly fixed items are an easy target to gusts of wind. The large area of fabric or film serves as a sail, therefore such an object can be easily become airborne and tossed into an adjacent yard, wreaking mess there, and consequently souring the relationship with neighbours,” Kārlis Liepiņš, the Director of BTA Insurance Claims Handling Department, suggests every homeowner thought ahead how to mitigate the effects of natural disasters.

One third of claims were related to vehicle damages, and many cases have occurred near shopping places. Objects flying and falling onto cars include advertising stands, fragments of shopping-cart stall frames and broken tree branches. The nasty quirk of nature has caused some drivers moments “full of excitement” even during their trip. A driver of a Volvo reported that a tree branch had fallen on the hood of his car while in motion, knocking out the headlights and denting the car body, thus passing a bill of 1,300 euros to foot. Another unlucky car, an Audi got its roof hatch glass torn off, also during the ride.

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 shareholder of BTA is Vienna Insurance Group AG with close to 200 years of experience in the insurance business. With about 50 companies in 30 countries and more than 25,000 employees, Vienna Insurance Group is a clear market leader in its Central and Eastern European markets, and takes care of more than 22 million customers. Vienna Insurance Group is the best-rated company of ATX, the leading index of Vienna Stock Exchange (since 1994) with a rating of A+ with stable outlook from Standard & Poor’s. Vienna Insurance Group works in close partnership with Erste Group – the largest retail bank in CEE.

Additional information:
Elīna Zvejniece
Marketing and Public Relations Department Director
BTA Baltic Insurance Company AAS
e-mail elina.zvejniece@bta.lv