Finance
European Floods Threaten Insurers With Worst Losses in Decades
Polish armed forces and workers remove remnants of a bridge in the flood-hit town of Glucholazy, Poland, on Sept. 20.
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Deadly floods that unleashed destruction across central and eastern Europe will generate some of the worst regional losses for insurers including Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen SA, Vienna Insurance Group AG and UNIQA Insurance Group AG.
Central Europe’s insured flood losses will likely be €2 billion ($2.2 billion) to €3 billion, Global reinsurance broker Gallagher Re estimates. That would rival the costs of the catastrophic floods of 1997, 2002 and 2013, Bloomberg Intelligence data shows. Other insurers with exposure include Generali and Allianz SE.