On average, Czech households experience a staggering 379 incidents daily, resulting in property damage, according to data compiled by the Czech Insurance Association. Water-related issues, such as burst pipes and flooding by neighbors, top the list as the most frequent cause of damage, closely followed by thefts. The association’s chief analyst, Petr Jedlička, highlighted that nearly half of these damages were not covered by insurance.

Rough estimates indicate that annually, households grapple with approximately 35,000 water-related damages and around 9,300 theft cases. Incidents caused by storms, electronic damage, and overvoltage trail behind, each contributing to about 4,500 cases. The chief analyst emphasized that the amount of damage in these events has been steadily rising, with the average damage increasing from 9,000 crowns in 2006 to over 12,500 crowns last year—a nearly two-fifths increase.

Over the past decade, cumulative damages in more than 1.38 million household events amounted to 14.3 billion crowns. Alarmingly, almost 658,000 of these damages were uninsured, resulting in a loss of 6.8 billion crowns. The annual loss ranged between 500 to 700 million crowns.

Despite the concerning figures, there is a positive trend in the decrease of uninsured households. Last year, out of 116,000 property damages, just under two-thirds were insured. While there were still 1.8 million uninsured households, the proportion of uninsured damages decreased from 57 percent in 2006 to 37 percent last year. Lenka Slabejová from the Czech Insurance Association highlighted the ongoing efforts to reduce the number of uninsured households, emphasizing a positive shift in addressing this critical aspect of property protection.

These findings underscore the importance of homeowners and renters considering comprehensive insurance coverage to mitigate the financial impact of unforeseen incidents, ultimately contributing to the resilience of Czech households in the face of various challenges.

Article by Prague Forum