The violent unrest in France last weekend is set to be among the country’s largest protest-driven loss events for insurers, with potential losses reaching up to €1.2bn, according to analysts Morningstar DBRS. Brokers also warned losses could breach €1bn. While the streets calmed by Monday night, costs could rise further if the unrest continued.
Riots are becoming “like natural catastrophes” in France, Morningstar analyst Marcos Alvarez told the FT, with an event costing hundreds of millions of euros in damage now expected each year. Losses from this weekend’s riots quickly outstripped the more than €700mn in insured losses from riots in 2023 that lasted over a week. Alvarez said the recent violence was “very intense and widespread,” and inflation had driven up the cost of damages.
At least 3,000 businesses across France were damaged, including luxury retailers such as Louis Vuitton and Kenzo. The government is seeking EU approval to require state-backed riot insurance for properties, aiming to spread the cost of riot insurance across all policyholders. The scheme, backed by a €4bn guarantee from the French state through its reinsurer Caisse Centrale de Réassurance, is not expected to retroactively cover this weekend’s demonstrations.
Private insurers have increasingly sought to curb their exposure to social unrest by introducing exclusions for “strikes, riots and civil commotion” (SRCC). Axa chief executive Thomas Buberl said the government needed to learn lessons from the riots, not rely solely on insurers to cover losses.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing