Home insurance picking up

The Greek insurance market has seen increased interest in insuring against natural disasters from homeowners recently, partly thanks to a favorable arrangement for a 10% discount in the Single Property Tax (ENFIA) for those who have coverage for earthquake, fire or flood.

According to market data, the rate of the takeup for new home insurance policies comes to 50% – in some cases even up to 70% – confirming the increased interest in taking out new insurance policies. 

The increase means that while in the past home insurance was purchased by four out of 10 homeowners among those who expressed interest or were contacted by insurance brokers, this percentage has now increased to six or seven out of 10, showing that the discount by 10% in ENFIA, instituted by the government within 2023, has acted as an incentive.

It is recalled that the benefit of the 10% discount in ENFIA requires a property to have insurance coverage for earthquake, fire or flood. According to the general secretary of the Athens Professional Chamber and coordinator of insurance consultants, Dimitris Gavalakis, in addition to the tax incentive, the increased interest is mainly attributed to “the people’s awareness after the tragic impact of Storm Daniel,” as it is increasingly recognized that the climate crisis intensifies extreme weather events, resulting in more frequent and more devastating natural disasters. 

Figures published by the Association of Insurance Companies of Greece (EAEE) on Wednesday show the serious gap in home insurance, as the percentage of insurance coverage is limited to 17% of total homes. Based on the relevant data, insured houses come to 1.08 million out of a total of 6.37 million houses recorded by ELSTAT during the 2011 census and 62.4% of the insured buildings are linked to the existence of a mortgage.

The highest percentage of insurance in relation to the total number of residences is in Attica, where of the total of 2,118,743 residences recorded by ELSTAT, 504,097, or 23.8%, have coverage.