Almost every second residential property in Latvia remains uninsured

The share of insured residential properties in Latvia has increased from 30.8% to 52.8% over eight years. This means that already more than half of residential properties in Latvia are currently insured. However, according to a home insurance market assessment conducted by Latvijas Banka, almost every second residential property in Latvia remains uninsured.

In 2025, the share of insured residential properties reached 52.8%. This figure was calculated by comparing the number of active home insurance policies reported by insurers with the number of households in Latvia. The historical data compiled by Latvijas Banka shows that in 2017, only 30.8% of residential properties were insured. Thus, since 2017, the share of insured residential properties has increased by 22 percentage points. In 2025, there were 445.6 thousand active home insurance policies in Latvia. 

"Significant progress has been made over eight years, but the damage caused by the recent storm is a reminder that this is not enough – almost every second residential property remains uninsured. Natural disasters cannot be prevented, but we can better protect ourselves financially against their consequences. If a residential property is insured, the risk of natural disasters is almost always covered", emphasises Evija Dundure, Head of the Insurance and Pension Supervision Department of Latvijas Banka.

Data from Latvijas Banka shows a clear long-term trend: people in Latvia are increasingly choosing to protect their properties against the financial consequences of unexpected events. However, the fact that 47.2% of residential properties are uninsured means that a significant proportion of the population remains vulnerable to substantial financial losses in the event of a serious disaster.

99.98% of home insurance policies cover natural catastrophe risks. The main challenge, therefore, is not the lack of natural catastrophe risk coverage in insurance policies, but the fact that almost half of residential properties are uninsured. 

The recent storm, during which trees fell onto buildings and damaged roofs and other structures, served as another reminder that such losses can occur suddenly and be substantial. In 2025, the average indemnity paid for losses caused by natural disasters to a residential property was EUR 1552 – approximately 25% higher than the average indemnity paid under home insurance policies (EUR 1242). 

The impact of natural disasters can vary significantly from year to year. In 2024, natural disasters accounted for 43.9% of reported home insurance claims, compared with 7.8% in 2025. Therefore, statistics from a year with fewer natural disaster-related claims do not mean that the risk has disappeared or decreased significantly.