The last few days have been heartbreaking for many people who have seen their property damaged by flooding and landslides. Now that the storm has calmed down, it is time to take stock of the damage. However, the news is not good for most consumers as only a small percentage of them have taken out insurance to protect their property against extreme weather events.


Do you have insurance?

Check the contractual conditions of your insurance policies. If you have taken out cover to protect yourself against the consequences of natural phenomena such as "storms", "floods" and "landslides”, please take photographs of the damage suffered and contact your insurer to report what happened.


If you don't have one...

Unfortunately, you may belong to the vast majority of consumers who didn’t take out insurance, either because you didn't know you could, or because you can't afford to take out this additional coverage. Aware of this reality, in recent years DECO has been arguing with the Government to recognise the fragile situation in which many consumers and their goods find themselves when faced with extreme climatic phenomena, including fires. In this sense, DECO calls for the creation of a Catastrophe Fund to protect owners against these events.


Credits: Unsplash; Author: Juan Manuel Sanchez;


What are DECO's next steps?

DECO will monitor consumers in their claims with insurers and report any delays in the payment of compensation.

In addition, DECO will also resume contact with the Office of the Secretary of State for Tourism, Commerce, and Services, who, in July, let us know that they were evaluating, along with the support of the Directorate General of the Consumer, the viability of the Catastrophe Fund proposed by DECO. "It is clear that we cannot wait any longer for the creation of this Fund," they said.

In addition to this Fund, the Association considers it essential that the State forces insurers to cover these risks, such as extreme weather occurrences, seismic phenomena, and fires, in a compulsory and automatic manner, within the scope of compulsory or optional insurance contracts.

Author

Paula Martins is a fully qualified journalist, who finds writing a means of self-expression. She studied Journalism and Communication at University of Coimbra and recently Law in the Algarve. Press card: 8252

Paula Martins