Romania is recording its highest temperatures on record and drought is affecting the whole country; at the opposite extreme, record levels of rainfall are being recorded in Great Britain.
Romania is recording its highest temperatures on record and drought is affecting the whole country; at the opposite extreme, record levels of rainfall are being recorded in Great Britain.
"Great Britain is renowned for its damp climate and its relatively high level of annual rainfall, but in the summer of 2007, due to unusual climatic changes, heavy rain has brought about serious floods and significant material damage. As a result, on a single day, a level of rainfall was recorded which, in normal circumstances, would be that recorded over two months; these kinds of events happen once in a century," in the words of Shah Rouf, CEO Aviva Romania.
"At a time when, in Romania, we are working at full capacity and preparing intensively for the launch of mandatory private pensions (Pillar II), our colleagues in Great Britain have doubled the number of employees in their customer relations department so as to be able to tackle the influx of over 30,000 insurance claims coming from customers. One household in five located in the areas affected by the rain in south-west and central England are insured by Aviva," added Shah, who began his career in Aviva in the company's damages department in Great Britain.
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) estimates that the total amount of all insurance claims in Great Britain will rise to over US$4 billion. As the largest insurance company in England, Aviva will have to pay out the highest amounts.
Nevertheless, Shah is confident: "This is what we are in this business for. Our customers have chosen us for these very circumstances. We have teams which go out to and assess damage on the scene itself, doing everything in their power to ensure that the businesses which carry out the repair work, as quickly as possible, are up to the job."
As a result of the flooding in July this year, a state of emergency has been declared in Great Britain and, if we also take into consideration the damage caused by Hurricane Cyril in January, as far as British insurers are concerned, the year 2007 may be considered to be the most "expensive" year ever, with the threshold for insurance claims exceeding the US$4.4 billion paid out in 1990.
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For further information:
Giliola Ignat
Telephone: 203 83 73
Note for editors:
Aviva Life Insurance SA and Aviva Administration Company for a Private Pension SA are part of the Aviva group, the largest insurance provider in Great Britain and one of the most powerful financial groups in the world. The Aviva group is the market leader for pensions and life insurance in Europe, occupying leading positions on most of the markets in which it operates. The group administers €535 billion worth of assets, representing the money of over 40 million clients worldwide. In Romania, Aviva has over 430,000 clients and agents and development centres in 23 towns and cities.