Only 5% of homes in the DR are insured

Even though the Dominican Republic has experienced significant growth in insurance sectorwith revenue exceeding $2 billion in 2023, property coverage is alarmingly low. Of the 3.6 million housing In the country, only 200,000 are insured, which is equivalent to 5.5%.

Given this scenario, Franklin Glasspresident of the Dominican Chamber of Insurers and Reinsurers (Cadoar), warns about the need to review home insurance coverage, since many people believe they are fully protected when in reality their policy covers only the value of the mortgage loan, leaving without protection the total value of their properties.

The rains of November 5, 2022 caused damage of almost 1.1 billion pesos. Of those, 90% of the cases were flooded cars and 10% were property damage.

“The message that this gives is peace of mind for the insured. It is the call for people to be insured,” says Glass.

In 2023, also in November, a lot of rainfall was recorded, causing a lot of damage, going from 1.1 billion pesos to nearly 1.5 billion pesos.

“62% was auto and the remaining 38% was property,” Glass details, noting that it is important for homeowners to understand the true value of their insurance, especially when financing a home.

Although the insurance depends on many factors, the Cadoar executive said that there is home insurance from 20, 25, and 30,000 pesos per year, where it can be planned in different payments.

Vehicles

In addition, it specifies that it is crucial to promote a culture of insurance, especially with the high percentage of uninsured vehicles. With data updated as of July 15, 2024, the General Directorate of Internal Taxes (DGII) reported that the stock of vehicles registered in 2023 amounted to 5,810,8882 units, registering a total of 346,892 new vehicles more than in 2022. Of the vehicle stock, 56.5% are motorcycles, 19.3% correspond to cars, 11.7% are jeeps and the remaining 12.5% ​​correspond to cargo vehicles and buses, among others.

“Despite laws requiring liability insurance. In the country, there are around 2.1 million insured vehicles, which represents less than 40% of the vehicle fleet,” said the representative of the Dominican Chamber of Insurers and Reinsurers (Cadoar).

In recent years, the Dominican Republic has been hit by a series of storms and weather phenomena that have left a significant impact on the lives of thousands of citizens, with both material and human losses.

Spain

Last week, in Valencia, Spainapproximately 205 people died due to rainfall and floods in a short period. On this topic, Franklin Glass told Diario Libre that he made contact with the insurance sector of Spain and confirmed that the economic damages will be assessed this week.