Floods, damaged buildings and cars, even dead people… are the serious consequences that the DANA or cold drop has left during its passage through the Peninsula. After the chaos unleashed by this meteorological phenomenon, it is time to account for the damage and claim the insurance companies, although they will not always be the ones that pay the compensation.
According to industry sources, the Insurance Compensation Consortium (CCS) will take care of “most of the damage” caused by the cold drop. But even so, it is recommended that those affected first contact their insurance company or insurance mediator so that they can help them in the processing of the report. A management that “is not complicated but it is cumbersome”, comments Juan Emilio Revilla, director of the Aon broker, while warning that “it never hurts to consult with the mediator because there are risks that are not covered by the Consortium”.
However, the entity responsible for paying the compensation will be different depending on the casuistry and the nature of the natural phenomenon, as explained below.
One of the most common cases are leaks or humidity that occur after episodes of heavy rain. In these cases, if the origin is not a lack of maintenance or gradual deterioration, the affected party will be compensated by their insurance company. However, there is one more requirement when the claim is covered: that the intensity of the meteorological phenomenon -the square liters of water that have fallen in a given time- “is above the threshold set” in the policy, which It is usually 40 liters per hour. But if it is below this threshold, the damage would not be covered by the insurance and the repair costs will be borne by the insured.
Another casuistry that is left out of the policy is “when the water enters through open windows or doors”, explains the broker Carlos Lluch. And then also “when there is a problem with the maintenance of the insulation, it may be covered (or not) depending on whether the policyholder has taken out leak coverage.” If this is the case, for example, and water has entered the house because a tile has been moved, the damage that this has produced inside the property would be covered, but not the repair of the cause of the leak (the roof maintenance).
In any case, the general rule is that damage caused by roofs and downspouts is not covered by the Consortium, but by the insurance company.
When the rains are so copious that they cause flooding, it is considered an extraordinary claim, so the compensation will be borne by the CCS and not by the insurer. Losses caused by flooding are understood, according to sources in the sector, to be those damages caused by flooding of the land due to rain, snowmelt, lakes, overflowing of rivers and estuaries, as well as the onslaught of the sea.
The communication of damages must be made to this public business entity, attached to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, by phone 900 222 665 or on the web. The insured must provide identifying information -such as policy number, policyholder and insured- and the digits of their checking account. CCS recommends submitting the application, if possible, within seven days of the incident. The compensation, they recall from the Spanish Union of Insurance and Reinsurance Entities (UNESPA), is compatible with the collection of public aid, although “in no case” can the amount received exceed the value of the damage caused.
Once the request has been processed, the Consortium will send an expert to the place of the accident to assess the damage. During this visit, as detailed from this entity, it will be necessary for the insured to present a series of documentation, such as budgets, damage repair invoices, two copies of the policy and a copy of the last premium payment receipt.
“In addition to delivering the indicated documentation to the expert, the remains of the damaged goods will be kept” for their assessment, it is indicated from the CCS website. “It is convenient for the expert to be able to see the damage, but it is also true that, in the event of events such as DANA in which there are numerous claims, the CCS can sometimes not respond in a short period of time,” explains Revilla. So, if it is not possible to keep the remains -for example, because it is a business and there is an urgency to resume the activity-, “it is recommended to take pictures.”
When the effects of a windstorm are suffered, the entity to which the insured must resort to collect compensation -if they have contracted insurance- will depend on the force of the wind. In the case of a tornado of any force or a wind of more than 120 kilometers per hour, the CCS will also be in charge of indemnifying. But if it is less than this intensity and is above the threshold that appears in the policy -generally gusts of 90 km per hour-, it will be the insurance company that will bear the cost. In the case of injury or death of a person due to the impact of an object caused by the wind, the same rule applies, although a minimum threshold of intensity of the phenomenon is not set to receive compensation.
In the event that the Consortium is in charge of managing the claim and there is a disagreement with the expert in charge of assessing the damage, the policyholder “will have the right to appoint a party expert”. Another important aspect is that the Consortium must make the payment within 40 days from the receipt of the claim statement. “If you don’t, after the third month you have to pay the legal interest increased by 50%,” explains Lluch.
It should be added that the Consortium always indemnifies in the same manner in which it has been agreed in the insurance policy. This would explain, for example, why “a neighbor whose parquet floor was damaged can be subjected to aesthetic damage and another cannot,” he adds.
As in the case of rainfall, the damages due to the direct effect of lightning or hail fall, even if they are produced by the thaw, will be borne by the insurance companies. However, the amount of compensation and coverage will depend on each policy, which may also have exclusions.
