Property insurance

Fire insurance essentially replaces the damage caused by a fire damage in accordance with their conditions of insurance. It can be here on movables, real estate and the fire business interruption insurance also insure yield losses. In addition, the insurance covers the reimbursement of a number of costs such as clean-up and demolition costs.

In Germany and Austria, a percentage of the insurance premium as a fire protection tax. This will be used to fund the fire departments. The current fire protection tax in Germany is 8.8 % of the insurance premium and is already included in the general tax for the fire insurance of 13.2 %.

History

The oldest according to information insurance in the world, established by the Council in Hamburg 1676 Hamburg Feuerkasse, based on the conclusion of the Hamburger " fire - contract " of 1591 by Hamburger breweries. Almost as old is the " Tiegenhöfer fire order" of 1623. You was founded by Mennonites in the Great Werder near Gdansk and is based on the Christian idea of mutual help in an emergency.

In the past, the fire insurance was compulsory insurance. This duty was abolished in Germany. In Kassel, there is still a Brandkasse that is attached to an insurance since the late nineties, the local savings bank.

The fire insurance has now lost its status as major insurance division to the life and car insurance. Especially after the end of the monopoly insurance and the prevailing in some states insurance compulsory fire insurance has lost in importance.

By the beginning of the millennium also damage caused by terrorism in the fire insurance were included. Due to the events of September 11, 2001, all insurers have but this risk excluded from the contracts at short notice. In the meantime, let terrorism damage caused by the special purpose vehicle and a government-backed hedge Extremus insurance AG. However, this applies only to companies for private individuals persists lack security option.

Basics

Fire insurance is intended primarily for the replacement of fire damage. While the fire insurance is not usually offered in pure form in the retail business, there are regulations published by the Association of the Insurance Industry Terms and conditions of fire insurance ( AFB ) for the commercial and industrial sectors. Since 1994, the insurance market is not regulated and insurance conditions are not subject to more content control, insurers can also develop your own condition works. In practice, the AFB play (especially in the version AFB 87) a dominant role.

The definition of fire damage is thus in most insurance contracts and uniform as follows:

" Fire is a fire that has been created without proper stove or has left it, and is able to spread on their own. "

A fire is a combustion process with Light Effect. As light phenomenon is already smoldering or glowing. A combustion process occurs according to prevailing opinion only on the supply of oxygen. In particular, in the industry but can also reign other atmospheres in which a combustion process can occur in tanks and boilers. Therefore, are located in the corresponding insurance contracts often further formulations.

From the above definition can be deduced in particular that damage shall not include:

• Scorch damage (eg, a cigarette) because the fire did not leave his proper stove and could not spread on its own.

• Fermentation damage to agriculture, since there is no light phenomenon and run the processes usually due to lack of oxygen supply

In practice, a so-called consequential loss or damage is often deducted from the compensation in case of fire damage. For example, if a fire occurs due to a technical defect in a TV or a machine, the previous defect is not insured loss. The subsequent fire destroyed only a worthless / unusable defective object and thus does not cause any further damage more.

The fire insurance covers not only fire damage but also

• Lightning ( both direct lightning strike and atmospherically induced overvoltage)
• Explosion (and often implosion )
• Impact or crash of aircraft, its parts or its load

And is therefore much more extensive than in the early days. In particular in the insurance industry is often spoken due to the first letter of the FLEXA hazards ( Fire, Lightning, Explosion, Aircraft). The fire hazards can be used for commercial and industrial customers to a variety of clauses expand, such as the intended adverse outlet glowing liquid melt compositions (eg, in a steel mill ) or Nutzwärmeschäden ( damage to property, the appropriate extreme heat are exposed ). Also, the aforementioned trading losses can be insured within certain limits.

Also damage caused by arson, will be replaced by the fire insurance. If an offender can be determined, the insurer will accept this after regulatory recourse. A self- arson by the insured is not included as it then is insurance fraud. At a loss due to rejection of arson strict burden of proof to be made, the insurer must perform a full proof that the policyholder (or a person in charge ) is responsible for the arson.

Pure fire insurance contracts are only rarely encountered in practice, in general, the risk of fire to other blocks combined (eg, tap water or storm / hail ) in a contract. Due to the high loss potential fire insurance, however, is determinative of the insurance premium.

Special features of the industrial fire insurance

In industrial insurance the premium is for the fire insurance ( in parts per thousand of sum insured ) by a so-called classification, often as part of a fire safety inspection, determined. Key factors are the mode of structural fire protection (eg, firewalls ) and the defensive fire protection (eg sprinkler systems ). For the calculation of the General Association of German Insurers has published a number of collective books, most recently in the 1990s. It incorporates statistics are the member companies to a variety of fire damage. The last published tariff T96 is still in use, because there is no market-wide statistics on the fire hazard of individual modes are available and can not create reliable actuarial calculations many smaller insurers due to lack of data / claims experience. The disadvantage of this practice is the fact that the data contained in the tariff based on the technical levels of the 90s and represent no new risk potentials more. In addition, in recent years various industries (eg, meat processing, paper production) have significantly more damage suffered as previously thought. The rate of GDV is therefore no longer be evaluated in some areas as a useful basis for calculation.

In connection with the industrial fire insurance, the concept of Probable Maximum Loss (PML ) is seen. This is the likely maximum damage in a fire event when all fire defense measures (eg sprinkler system ) should and some structural fire protection measures fail. Are not considered cases of arson and disaster scenarios such as plane crashes. The PML is an essential parameter for insurers and has a significant impact on the willingness drawing. While large corporations with many different sites have extremely high sums insured ( regularly in the billion range), the risk for the individual loss is significantly lower, because only one site is involved. The PML is an important criterion in the transfer of risk to a reinsurer.

To prevent the increased risk of fire compared to the private risks that exist in industrial fire insurance contracts are generally further obligations. In case of violation of these requirements, the insurer may exempt in case of damage on the power or be entitled to the reduction. The relevant provisions are found in the Insurance Act or individual contractual agreements. An essential requirement is, for example, the revision of the electrical systems by a VdS - recognized expert on an annual basis. Since about 30 % of all fire damage in the commercial / industrial area arise from defective electrical equipment, maintain the property and casualty insurers, the trade association / regulatory review requirements (eg BGV A3 ) is not sufficient. The examination by a VdS - recognized expert is significantly more extensive and often covers a variety of shortcomings, which are not revealed with other test methods. Due to the additional costs incurred denied in practice, a number of companies in the VdS revision, jeopardized, however, to a considerable extent the insurance coverage.

Also frequently encountered are the general safety of the fire insurers for factories and industrial plants. This must be posted in the insured company and to oblige the employee to your compliance. The safety cover 10 points such as for dealing with fire barriers ( fire doors ) or hot work.

Others

In addition to fire insurance, a premium-free shell - fire insurance is provided when required in the rule. This ensures construction / renovation from objects located against fire damage. This special solution is necessary, as contained in the usual condition plants under construction and components are not covered by insurance. The shell fire insurance premiums is free usually granted when the object to be created is then included in the insurance contract.

The fire insurers and the German insurance industry overall conduct extensive studies and tests to avoid fire damage. By VdS Loss Prevention is, inter alia, a variety of guidelines and articles published on the topic of fire safety. These are used by the most active in Germany Insurance as a basis for risk assessment and are particularly suitable for industrial customers is important. Without compliance with the VdS guidelines (eg, design of sprinkler systems ) is expected to substantially higher fire insurance premiums. The guidelines of the VdS (and thus the insurance industry ) are much more extensive than regulatory requirements in the rule, as for the insurers of the protection of property is in the foreground, while in regulatory requirements, the focus is on the protection of persons.