MORE THAN 1,000 French homes were burgled every day last year, according to figures from the French Federation of Insurance Companies (FFSA).
Insurers dealt with 400,000 claims for break-ins in 2013, at a cost of €720 million..
The number of burglaries has risen 50% between 2008 and 2013 but has remained steady in the first half of 2014, the FFSA said.
The organisation’s president, Bernard Spitz told AFP: “Households are better equipped than they were a few years ago, so the losses are greater.”
Meanwhile, 4,000 homeowners made claims for water damage every day last year. That’s a drop of 3% year on year, but still generated a bill of €1.3bn.
And there were an average of 630 claims a day for fire damage, a rise of 9%, that ended up costing €1.6bn.
Claims for damage caused by extreme weather jumped 42% last year compared to 2012, with payouts averaging €2,300. The total cost to insurers was €815million. In comparison, insurance claims for damaged caused by the hailstorms that battered France earlier this month are estimated to be between €800million and €900million.
The FFSA also reported that 34,000 claims were made for natural disasters last year, at an average cost of €13,050.