The head of research and development at Allianz Re, Silvio Tschudi, said in Munich on Thursday that damage claims from Portugal, Spain, France and Germany would total between €100 million and €300 million.

The catastrophe risk analysis firm AIR Worldwide has estimated ‘Xynthia’ was responsible for €1.5 billion and €3 billion in damages across Europe.

The violent storm cut a deadly swathe through Western Europe last week, killing over 50 people amid gusts of up to 150 kilometres per hour and eight-metre (26 foot) waves.

The brutal winter in Germany had also caused an inordinate amount of smaller claims for insurers, which had to cover pedestrians slipping on icy sidewalks, frozen pipes bursting and weather-related business closures.

But Tschudi said the cold winter was neither proof for or against global warming, pointing instead to long-term weather trends showing an increase in natural disasters.

“According to our estimates, damages covered by insurers will increase on average $41 billion per year between 2010 and 2019,” he said.

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