Emilia-Romagna Italy flood industry loss hiked 30% to €488m by PERILS

The insurance and potentially reinsurance industry loss from severe flooding in Europe that affected the Emilia-Romagna Region of Italy in May 2023 has been raised significantly to €488 million by PERILS, a 30% increase on the previous estimate from July.

PERILS industry loss estimate for this event covers flooding that had occurred in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy during the period of 2nd to 22nd May 2023.

As we said before, it is a particularly lengthy event duration. But, flood insurance claims can often be filed weeks after an event occurs, so it’s a good way to capture as many claims as possible, even if it falls outside of the typical hours clauses used across the insurance and reinsurance industry.

PERILS initial estimate was for an industry loss of €377 million, based on data reported by Italian insurers and only covering the property line of business.

Now, PERILS has added 30% to the total, taking the industry loss estimate for these Emilia-Romagna Italy floods to €488 million.

The Italian government estimated that the economic loss from this flood event would be close to EUR 9 billion, around 50% attributable to damage to public infrastructure.

The region of Italy was struck by an extended period of low-pressure weather during May, which drove repeat periods of very heavy rains and flooding.

Two main rain storms were seen as triggers for the floods, on 2nd May and then again on 16th and 17th May, when extreme rainfall of over 200mm in 24 hours caused severe inundation and hundreds of landslides across several provinces of the Emilia-Romagna and the Marche regions.

Large cities affected included, Bologna, Cesena, Forli, Faenza, Ravenna, and Rimini , which were impacted by mud-laden overflowing waterways and rain-induced flash flooding.

While, the persistent and stationary nature of the rain storms led to large local water accumulations, overwhelming the capacity of rivers and urban drainage systems.