3: Number instances damage from lightning and surge voltages and amounts paid out home and
contents insurance companies; source: www. It's surprise, then, that prop-
erty insurers are checking more and more claims and
stipulating the use devices protect against
surges.GDV.Building damage due direct lightning strike
1. Information protection measures can be
found in, for example, the German Directive VdS
2010.de (1) preliminary, date June 2018
TBS
Blitzschutz-Leitfaden
2018
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Chapter General introduction
.6 Financial implications lightning
and surge voltage damage
Financial losses can only considered isolation in
cases where legal insurance requirements relat-
ing personal safety apply.
Year Number lightning and surge voltage damage cases Paid damages for lightning and surge voltage damage
1999 490,000 €310 million
2006 550,000 €340 million
2007 520,000 €330 million
2008 480,000 €350 million
2009 490,000 €340 million
2010 330,000 €220 million
2011 440,000 €330 million
2012 410,000 €330 million
2013 340,000 €240 million
2014 410,000 €340 million
2015 350,000 €240 million
2016 320,000 €250 million
2017(1) 300,000 €250 million
Table 1.
Substantial losses result from the destruction of
electrical devices, notably:
• Computers and servers
• Telephone systems
• Fire alarm systems
• Monitoring systems
• Lift, garage door and roller shutter drives
• Consumer electronics
• Kitchen appliances
Further costs can also incurred due outages
and consequential damage relation to
• Loss data
• Production outage
• Loss contactability (Internet, telephone, fax)
• Defective heating systems
• Costs due faults and false alarms fire and
burglar alarm systems
Financial losses are the rise
Current statistics and estimates insurance compan-
ies show: Damage levels caused surges exclud-
ing consequential outage costs long since
reached drastic levels due the growing dependency
on electronic "aids"
