Historic insurance payment made

  • 2004-09-29
  • Baltic News Service
VILNIUS - Lietuvos Draudimas (Lithuanian Insurance) has announced that it would pay 6,000 litas (1,700 euros) to the Alga Group to compensate damages caused by the earthquake that struck the Baltics last week.

This marked the first-ever insurance payout in Lithuania on a claim over earthquake damages, the country's largest non-life insurance company said.

The earthquake, whose epicenter was in the Kaliningrad region, sent a wave of aftershocks through the Baltics on Sept. 21. The tremors measured between 4 and 5.3 on the Richter scale and cracked windows in Alga's buildings.

The company, which is engaged in the production of metal, aluminum and plastic constructions and the service of custom terminals, filed a claim for damages with Lietuvos Draudimas the next day.

Alga is one of the few Lithuanian companies that are covered against losses or damages due to earthquakes.

The local press has reported that Mazeikiu Nafta, Snaige's plant in Kaliningrad, Dvarcioniu Keramika and a few other companies also have earthquake insurance.

Lietuvos Draudimas has reinsurance arrangements with international reinsurers, covering risks that could cause damages amounting to more than 500,000 litas - 3 million litas, including earthquakes.

Sarunas Nedzinskas, director of the business and risk insurance department at Lietuvos Draudimas, said that only a small number of customers wanted to have rare events such as earthquakes to be included in their policies.