How to claim damages caused by natural disasters such as DANA

November 05 , 2024 // Specialty : Environmental liability

Published in Consumer

People directly affected by a natural disaster are entitled to various compensations and aids, depending on the characteristics of the catastrophe

Steps to claim damages
When a natural disaster occurs, such as the recent floods that have mainly affected the provinces of Valencia and Albacete, you do not have to wait to claim compensation for damages to homes, vehicles and businesses, and much less for it to be declared a disaster area (this may not happen). The procedures must be started as soon as possible. These are the steps to follow:

Report it to your home, car, life, or other insurance. The insurer will only cover damages that are included in the contracted coverage.
Contact the Insurance Compensation Consortium, which will provide coverage for certain extraordinary risks not covered by insurance policies.
And if a “Zone Seriously Affected by a Civil Protection Emergency” (Zagrec) is declared, which is known as a “catastrophic zone”, further aid can also be claimed. This is stipulated in Article 21.2 of Law 17/2015, of 9 July, on the National Civil Protection System: “Aid for material damage shall be compatible with aid that may be granted by other Public Administrations, or with compensation that may be provided under insurance policies, without in any case the total amount of all of them being able to exceed the value of the damage caused.”