Hail, floods, lightning These cantons are particularly affected by storms
Hail in the Jura, floods in Schwyz and lightning in Ticino: severe weather events do not affect Switzerland evenly - as the latest AXA claims statistics show.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Storms cause high insurance claims in Switzerland every year.
- According to a survey by AXA Insurance, hail damage occurred particularly frequently in the cantons of Ticino, Jura and Neuchâtel, with Ticino also recording by far the most lightning damage.
- The canton of Schwyz was particularly frequently affected by flood damage.
Thunderstorms are moving across Switzerland almost every day this week. This causes damage. However, the intensity and frequency of thunderstorms varies greatly from year to year. In 2024, AXA Insurance recorded claims amounting to CHF 132 million, similar to 2022, but significantly less than in 2021 and 2023, as the insurer writes in a press release.
Storms have increased in intensity in recent years, with stronger gusts of wind and more heavy rain. However, this is not fully reflected in the flood damage, as the federal government, cantons and municipalities have invested in protective measures. Flood relief tunnels and retention basins are examples of such measures.
Hail
Individual regions stand out in the statistics: hail damage to cars has occurred particularly frequently in the cantons of Ticino, Jura and Neuchâtel over the last 20 years. "Major hailstorms in particular, which damage a large number of cars in a short space of time, can be a major driver of the claims balance", says Patrick Villiger, Head of Motor Vehicle Claims at AXA.
In contrast, there was hardly any hail damage in the cantons of Schaffhausen, Geneva, Graubünden, Glarus and Thurgau.
Floods
Over the last ten years, the canton of Schwyz has suffered the most flood damage per insured household, followed by the cantons of Thurgau, Solothurn and Lucerne. It should be noted, however, that individual events were very significant in each case. The cantons of Vaud, Nidwalden, Basel-Land, Graubünden and Uri have been spared flooding for the most part in the last ten years.
Lightning strikes
One canton clearly leads the statistics for damage caused by lightning: In Ticino, the risk of damage caused by lightning was almost seven times greater than in the rest of Switzerland over the last ten years. AXA counts several hundred household contents claims in this canton every year.
Compared to Basel-Land, Vaud and Geneva, the risk was even 26 times higher. The reason is understandable: When warm, humid Mediterranean air is pressed against the Alpine chain, thunderclouds form with strong updrafts and downdrafts and high electrical voltage. This discharges in lightning.
