After a strong storm raging in Latvia on April 16, up to now there were already 26 indemnity claims made for a total of almost 60 000 euros, moreover, the most severe damage was caused to immovable property, according to data summarized by BTA Baltic Insurance Company AAS (hereinafter – BTA).

“There were many locations where strong wind tore off the roofs, branches of falling trees smashed the windows, power lines were torn, trees have fallen onto several cars”, recalls BTA Insurance Claims Handling Department director Kārlis Liepiņš.

The largest property insurance claim was received for damage caused to a building in Gulbene district Lizumi municipality. An indemnity of over 2000 euros was claimed for damage to property in Stopiņi district in Līči; many other claims were made exceeding 1000 euros and that testifies to serious insured events.

There were many locations where falling trees fell onto the cars parked next to buildings. After the storm on Thursday, KASKO insurance indemnity claims for over 5000 euros were made.

In regard to damage caused by strong wind, 130 calls were received during the previous day, on 108 occasions it was required to clean broken and torn up trees, including the trees, which might have fallen onto residential buildings, on 17 occasions it was required to avert endangered damaged constructions, while on five occasion the information on endangered objects was not confirmed, informs the State Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS).

Nobody was injured within damages caused by the wind. Riga region was marked by the largest number of calls – 65, 15 of the calls in Ogre and Ogre district, mostly due to trees felled by the wind.

The wind mainly damaged trees, however, there is damage caused to buildings and structures. For instance, in Jekabpils the roof of a school was partially torn off, in Dobele part of the roof of the warehouse was torn off, in Rīga and Aizkraukle there were four billboards damaged altogether.

BTA encourages you to insure your property against the risks of such accidents, and exercise caution during stormy weather, avoiding parking cars underneath trees and timely making sure having tightly fixed windows, roofs and other parts of buildings.

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