Lisbon, Aug. 26, 2024 (Lusa) - The Portuguese Insurers Association (APS) on Monday warned of the need for a catastrophic risk protection system in Portugal, pointing out that only 19% of homes are currently insured against seismic risk.
In a statement released in the wake of the earthquake this morning, the APS recalls that ‘for dozens of years’ it has been warning of the need for such a protection system in Portugal, emphasising that what is at stake is ‘not mere uncertainty, but a real risk, of certain occurrence, at an uncertain time’.
According to the association, only 19% of homes in the country are insured against seismic risk, 47% have no insurance at all, and 34% have fire or multi-risk insurance but no seismic risk cover.
Thus, he emphasises, ‘a long way to go to ensure that the insured housing stock has the minimum protection against this type of event’.
And while the earthquake felt today doesn't seem to have caused any damage, the APS notes that Portugal is in a seismic zone and ‘has already been seriously affected by one of the largest earthquakes on record, which occurred in 1755 and which then devastated part of the city of Lisbon and other areas of the country’.
‘The insurance sector, with its experience in managing this type of event, as a result of its operating model based on mutualisation and sharing of risks and losses worldwide, is ready to make its contribution and has already presented the government and parliament on several occasions with a possible solution for protecting people and homes,’ it said.
In this context, the APS hopes that today's earthquake ‘will be decisive in speeding up the decision to create a mechanism to help citizens cope with and mitigate the losses that a major earthquake can cause’ in Portugal.
An earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale was recorded at 05:11. Its epicentre was 58 kilometres west of Sines, in the district of Setúbal. According to the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC), the quake caused no personal or material damage.
According to the Portuguese Sea and Atmosphere Institute (IPMA), ‘so far four small aftershocks have been recorded, none of which have been felt by the population’.
PD/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
