Insurance claims at Christmas
The holiday season should be a time of peace and goodwill for all, but for businesses, there are many perils and pitfalls which can disrupt this harmony.Over the past five years, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) has received more than 400 claims from companies on Christmas Day (25December) alone. What are the top causes? Spoiler: make sure any goods or cargo that are being transported are packed and stored correctly!
The top causes of loss on Christmas Day according to the number of all claims received (by %):
10. Machinery breakdown (including engine failure) 3% - e.g. damage to industrial machinery, factory hardware, ship aircraft/vehicle engine etc.
9. Natural catastrophes 3% - e.g. damage or disruption caused by hurricanes, tornados, storms, floods, wildfires, extreme weather etc.
8. Defective products 4% - e.g. large product recall; cost of fixing defective automotive parts; lost business income due to premises closing; food contamination etc.
7. Fire/explosion 5% - e.g. building/factory fire; electrical fire; gas explosion; vehicle fire etc.
6. Bodily injury 6% - e.g. workplace injury; slip and falls at airports etc.
5. Wilful acts (crime) 7% - e.g. theft and burglary, vandalism, rioting and looting etc.
4. Faulty workmanship/maintenance 8% - e.g. collapse of building/structure/subsidence due to faulty work; faulty manufacturing of products/components; inadequate maintenance etc.
3. Water damage 8% - e.g. boiler leakage; flooding in basement; flooding due to burst pipes; general escape of water in commercial premises; failure of primary heating, ventilation and air conditioning system etc.
2. Shipping incidents (sinking, collision etc.) 9% - e.g. collision with harbour wall; hull damage at sea; ship grounding; ship foundering; collision with another vessel etc.
1. Damaged goods (including handling/storage) 10% - e.g. goods/technical equipment damaged; vehicles damaged in transit; equipment lost on premises; contents of a container damaged etc.
*Source: Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS). Based an on analysis of 424 business insurance claims where the cause of loss occurred on 25 December between 1 January 2017, and 31 December 2021, worth approximately €61mn in value.
“Other” causes of loss account for 35% of the number of all claims. Claims total includes the share of other insurers in addition to AGCS.