The beginning of the year, spent in the sign of entertainment limitations and lockdown, has had a positive effect on people’s safety. Even despite of the winter, rich in snow, snowy sidewalks and cold, the number of accidents registered in January this year has dropped by 25%, compared to the first month last year, according to data of BTA Baltic Insurance Company AAS (hereinafter – BTA). 

Winter is usually a traumatic season in Latvia. People get injured by slipping on icy pavements, in road traffic accidents, or mountain skiing slopes. But this year, the effects of the pandemic – the working remotely and the limited options of visiting locations for winter sports have stimulated staying at home, thus protecting from accidents. As a result of this calm lifestyle, the insurer has received accident claims that is by fifth less than a year ago, when there was almost no snow in January. 

Claims indicate that the quantity of accidents sustained outside has considerably decreased, which can be explained by less walking on unswept sidewalks in early morning hours as well as less visiting the traditional winter pastime places – skating rinks and skiing trails. 

“The severity of injuries sustained is also lesser and therefore we have paid by 26% less in indemnities than at the same period a year ago. The injuries have been predominantly sustained at home and often as a result of simple carelessness. For instance, a customer, tidying up the kitchen had a jar of cucumbers slipping out of his fingers and breaking his toe. Another customer happened to bump into room doors, yet another one slipped onto a leaf of lettuce in a grocery store, fell and got injured,” BTA Insurance Claims Handling Department Director Kārlis Liepiņš accounts the insured events typical for this year. 

The observation of longer staying at home time is confirmed by a fact that the number of home insurance events has had a rise by 23% in January and February. These accidents are related to cases such as Christmas tree catching fire, as well as various fires and property damages caused by people themselves.

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 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; its share is also listed on the Prague Stock Exchange. Vienna Insurance Group works in close partnership with Erste Group – the largest retail bank in CEE.

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