Anomalous hail hits horticulture companies

Damage amounting to several million euros has already occurred in just one week. In some cases, ice crystals with sharp spurs developed such a force, due to their size and unusual shape, that they even penetrated double-layer films. Risk manager Michele Simioni is currently in the provinces of Padua, Treviso and Venice, to see for himself the damage suffered by member companies. "I have seen a lot of hail damage in horticulture in recent years, but I have never experienced such extreme weather events. Hailstones the size of tennis balls, with protuberances and sharp points, destroyed plastic films and even stronger materials. It was also a very dangerous situation for the people on site." Many reports of hail damage and heavy storms have also reached Gartenbau-Versicherung VVaG from neighbouring regions, where the new risk manager Roberto de Vivo supports our members.

For the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Christian Senft, the focus is now on supporting all affected companies, to which he ensures rapid claims settlement. At the same time, he looks forward with concern to the weeks and months to come: "We are halfway through the year and our Italian members are once again the most affected by claims compared to all our other European markets. There seems to be no end to natural catastrophes, the weather situation remains exceptional and unstable in many locations. In the months to come, we will therefore intensify the dialogue with our members in order to be able to guarantee safety in these extreme situations in the future and to distribute the risks fairly. We will all have to work together on these aspects."