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. Information protection measures can be
found in, for example, the German Directive VdS
2010. It's surprise, then, that prop-
erty insurers are checking more and more claims and
stipulating the use devices protect against
surges.de (1) preliminary, date June 2018
TBS
Blitzschutz-Leitfaden
2018
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Chapter General introduction
.GDV.3: Number instances damage from lightning and surge voltages and amounts paid out home and
contents insurance companies; source: www.
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".Building damage due direct lightning strike
1
