French Economy Minister Calls for Full Insurance Industry Mobilization Amid Devastating Storm Floods

French Economy Minister Roland Lescure has issued an urgent call for a "general mobilization" of the insurance sector to support victims affected by the severe flooding caused by storms Nils and Pedro. The storms, coupled with the longest recorded rainfall period on the Atlantic coast since 1959 — spanning 37 consecutive days — have caused extensive damage across the West and Southwest of France.

Minister Lescure emphasized the critical role of insurers in promptly compensating those impacted. He stated, "Their job is to insure against risks; they collect premiums for that, and I hope they will be able to do it quickly and well." He highlighted that tens of thousands of French residents have been affected and that insurers need to be fully prepared for this mobilization.

Homeowners and businesses with multi-risk insurance policies are covered for damages resulting from storms and flooding, irrespective of whether their municipalities have been officially declared natural disaster zones. The primary distinction lies in the application of the "catnat" regime, a public-private partnership managed by the Caisse centrale de réassurance (CCR), which insurers can utilize for claims related to officially declared disasters.

In coordination with these efforts, an interministerial committee is scheduled to convene, tasked with identifying municipalities eligible for state assistance. Although floodwaters have largely begun to recede, with electricity outages dropping from a peak of 900,000 to about 13,000 households, the full scope of damage assessments will become clearer in the coming days.

Minister Lescure's appeal underscores the vital cooperation needed between the government and insurance industry to address the urgent humanitarian and economic repercussions of these unprecedented storms.