Cold snap led to €297m insurance bill

LAST year’s cold snap led to the biggest ever insurance bill for a single weather event in Ireland, with a massive €297 million being paid out by insurers during the period.

New figures revealed by the Irish Insurance Federation (IIF) show there were 22,450 claims from the public — the vast majority of which involved damage to homes.

According to the umbrella group, while problems associated with the November 2009 floods were more obvious, issues such as frozen or burst pipes in family homes over the following two months led to a small fortune in pay-outs.