Claims involving most losses were reported in districts of Faro and Aveiro
Insurers estimate paying claims of €8 million for fires that occurred during the situation of contingency and alert decreed in July, according to a survey by APS, the Portuguese insurers association.
Conclusions of a survey of members, released today, also indicate that Leiria was the district with the most reported claims, but that claims involving the most losses were reported in the districts of Faro (from the fire in Almancil/ Quinta do Lago) and Aveiro.
Almost all of reported losses concern multi-risk insurance, both commercial and industrial (49%) and residential (37%).
“The situation that the country has gone through recently, and the increasing frequency of climatic events that are at its origin, reinforce the importance of insurance as an element of mitigation for losses suffered and as a factor of stability in the lives of people and companies,” president of APS, José Galamba de Oliveira, said in a statement.
According to data from the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF) the period up to July 31, 2022 saw the fifth highest number of fires and the third highest amount of burnt areas since 2012.
July is the month (so far) with the highest number of rural fires – 40% of the total this year. It is also the month with the most burnt areas – 46,996 hectares, which represents 81% of all burnt areas recorded this year.
The five largest fires (so far) all occurred in July; the one that consumed the largest area was in the municipality of Murça, Vila Real, on July 17 (7,058 hectares), followed by the fire of Pombal, Leiria, where 5,126 hectares burnt (July 8th).
The fire of Chaves, Vila Real, on July 15 comes in 3rd place, with 3,368 hectares burnt, followed by Carrazeda de Ansiães, Bragança (July 7), with 3,330 hectares burnt, and Ourém, Santarém, also July 7, which consumed 2,936 hectares.
Source: LUSA
