Flood in numbers

According to data from the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, 749 towns and cities were covered by the state of natural disaster.

The number of people directly affected by the flood was estimated at 57 000.

Insurers have already helped the owners of nearly 37,000 homes and flats affected by the floods in south-western Poland.

As a result of the disaster, more than 11 thousand single-family and multi-apartment residential buildings, more than 6 thousand business properties and more than 700 public facilities were damaged or flooded.

The first decisions on payouts were already taken on Sunday, 15 September.

The factories are still well prepared for further emergency action and promise to maintain a similar pace in supporting the injured in the following days.

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General information on flood insurance. Q&A

What is flood insurance?

It’s a policy which protects property – both real estate and movable property – from damage caused by water that floods areas due to rainfall, melting snow or other hydrological occurrences.

Such insurance is most often offered as an add-on to a home policy, although it can also be purchased as a separate cover.

What losses does flood insurance cover?

Coverage depends on the policy and insurer you choose, but typically includes:

damage to or destruction of the building,
damage to structural elements (roof, foundations, walls),
damage to equipment (furniture, white goods, household appliances),
costs of renovation and reconstruction of the property,
sometimes the policy may also cover losses to the garden, property or outbuildings.

How to choose the right flood insurance?

Before choosing your insurance, it’s worth considering carefully:

Coverage – make sure exactly what the policy covers and whether it suits your needs.
The grace period – how long after you have bought your policy the flood cover will be active (usually it is 30 days).
Exclusion terms – check what situations the insurance will not work in.
Franchises and limits – look out for maximum indemnity amounts and any deductibles.
Location – if your property is in a high flood risk area, compare quotes from different insurers to choose the best option.

Is flood insurance compulsory?

In Poland, flood insurance is not compulsory. However, it is recommended for people living in areas that have been affected by floods in the past or are at risk of such a risk, as the events of the last month have shown

What is considered when setting the premium?

When setting an insurance premium, insurance companies take into account a number of factors, such as:

the location of the property (whether it is in a flood risk zone),
the history of flooding in the region,
the value of the property to be insured,
the extent of protection the customer chooses.

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Simplified procedure

According to Polish law, the insurer is obliged to fulfil the benefit within 30 days, counting from the date of receipt of the notice of accident. In practice, however, after incidents such as floods, companies usually do not wait until the last minute, but pay out compensation as soon as possible.

Text messages are sent to customers in alert areas with warnings and a request to contact them if help is needed. This is already a practice of all insurance companies in Poland for this type of mass damage. The companies also simplify procedures to the maximum, so that payment can be made even within one day.

According to the Polish Insurance Association (Polska Izba Ubezpieczeń), companies are already working on the ground and simplifying procedures, but in practice a lot depends on the individual insurer.

Mobile offices of insurance companies are operating in the flooded areas. They often use drones to assess the extent of damage.

One of Poland’s leading insurers has launched a fast-track service for people affected by flooding and waterlogging in southern Poland. Customers reporting such damage have priority on the helpline and online application and are immediately redirected to the team dealing with these incidents.

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After returning to a flooded house

Those affected by the floods can return home as soon as the local services allow it. When you return home, you need to check the gas, electricity and water systems with the help of professionals, disinfect and dry flooded rooms, throw away food that has come into contact with flood waters. Until the local authorities declare the water supply system safe, you can only drink bottled water.

As the Polish Insurance Association advises, if property has been damaged by extreme weather events, you need to protect it from further damage. When some repairs need to be done quickly, they can be done, the insurer should reimburse the cost of the necessary work, but you should keep the receipts. It is a good idea to make documentation of the damage before repairs are made, in general taking photographs of everything is very useful.

You can clean the house and the area around the house, but it is worth leaving the damaged items in one place until the insurer’s surveyor arrives. However, without consulting the insurer, it is better not to make renovations.

Report the damage to the insurer as soon as possible – either via the insurer’s website or by telephone – the number is on the policy, with the agent or on the insurer’s website. Have your policy and bank account numbers ready before you call. Once the claim has been reported, the insurer will provide the injured party with precise information on the subsequent procedure.

Key observation

However, if someone wanted to buy a home insurance policy at the sight of a flood wave, there is no chance of that. You can insure yourself against a future and uncertain event, not against something that is just starting to happen. An exception might be if someone has just run out of policy and wants to buy cover for the following year. In such cases, insurers should not make a problem of this.

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Draft flood regulation: there will be no tax on flood compensation

Polish Ombudsman applied to the Ministry of Finance which few days ago resulted in the publication of a draft relevant regulation. It shows that companies affected by the floods do not have to pay tax on compensation received from 12 September 2024 until the end of 2026.

Let us recall that under the current legislation, the amount of compensation received from insurers by flood victims (entrepreneurs and companies) for damaged (lost) property is, in principle, income subject to PIT (where the damage relates to an asset used in business activities) and also to CIT.

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