AUGSBURG (dpa-AFX) - The Minister Presidents of the federal states want to discuss the possible introduction of compulsory insurance against natural hazards as a consequence of the floods with Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on June 20. A spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of Justice told the newspaper "Augsburger Allgemeine" (Wednesday). The panel will discuss the results of four meetings of a corresponding working group. Natural hazards are damage caused by nature. This includes damage caused by floods, storms or landslides.

However, the Federal Ministry of Justice is skeptical about such insurance. The spokesperson told the newspaper that "the introduction of nationwide natural hazard insurance does not solve the problem of the risk of damage to buildings and the associated financial burden for citizens". Among other things, she referred to the bureaucratic effort involved in the necessary inspections. "With many millions of residential buildings in Germany and the insurance law expertise required for the inspection, this inspection is extremely time-consuming and cost-intensive."

More than a year ago, the Federal Council called for the nationwide introduction of compulsory natural hazard insurance, also with reference to the flood disaster on the Ahr in 2021 with many deaths and immense damage.

Following the floods over the Whitsun weekend, particularly in Saarland, calls for its introduction were once again loud. The Federal Ministry of Justice pointed out that compulsory insurance would "make living more expensive throughout Germany". The insurance industry estimates "that the costs per single-family home would be between 100 and 2000 euros per year", said the spokesperson.

At the time, the Federal Council's resolution stated that the federal government feared that the burden on private households would be too high. However, this seemed short-sighted. The burden in the event of damage would be many times higher and could even threaten the existence of some households./cht/DP/zb