Natural Perils (Elementarschäden)
Natural perils are losses caused by natural events such as flood, earthquake, landslide, or snow load, which can generally only be covered against an additional premium.
Concept
Natural perils are losses caused by natural events such as flood, backwater, earthquake, subsidence, landslide, snow load, avalanches, or volcanic eruption, which in standard homeowners and household contents insurance are typically not covered automatically but only against a separate additional premium under extended natural perils coverage.
Distinction from Windstorm and Hail
Natural perils in the narrower sense must be distinguished from windstorm and hail damage, which are already included as standard in most basic conditions of homeowners and household contents insurance; this distinction is historically rooted and based on the differing claim frequency and accumulation effects of the respective natural hazards.
Relevance of Zoning Systems
Because flood risk varies significantly by region, insurers pricing natural perils coverage frequently use zoning systems (in Germany, for example, the ZÜRS system), which classify addresses into hazard classes based on their flood risk, enabling risk-adequate premium calculation and, in some cases, coverage refusal for high-risk locations.