Top 10 insurance claims at Christmas

The holiday season should be a time of peace and goodwill for all but for businesses, there are many perils and pitfalls which can disrupt this harmony. Over the past five years Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) has received more than 400 claims from companies on Christmas Day (December 25) alone.

What are the top causes? Spoiler: make sure any goods or cargo that are being transported are packed and stored correctly!

Top causes of loss on Christmas Day according to number of all claims received (by %)

10. Machinery breakdown (including engine failure) 3%

e.g. damage to industrial machinery, factory hardware, ship aircraft/vehicle engine etc.

9. Natural catastrophes 3%

e.g. damage or disruption caused by hurricanes, tornados, storms, floods, wildfires, extreme weather etc.

8. Defective product 4%

e.g. large product recall; cost of fixing defective automotive parts; lost business income due to premises closing; food contamination etc.

7. Fire/explosion 5%

e.g. building/factory fire; electrical fire; gas explosion; vehicle fire etc.

6. Bodily injury 6%

e.g. workplace injury; slip and falls at airports etc.

5. Willful acts (crime) 7%

e.g. theft and burglary, vandalism, rioting and looting etc.

4. Faulty workmanship/maintenance 8%

e.g. collapse of building/structure/subsidence due to faulty work; faulty manufacturing of products/components; inadequate maintenance etc.

3. Water damage 8%

e.g. boiler leakage; flooding in basement; flooding due to burst pipes; general escape of water in commercial premises; failure of primary heating, ventilation and air conditioning system etc.

2. Shipping incidents (sinking, collision etc.) 9%

e.g. collision with harbor wall; hull damage at sea; ship grounding; ship foundering; collision with another vessel etc.

1. Damaged goods (including handling/storage) 10%

e.g. goods/technical equipment damaged; vehicles damaged in transit; equipment lost on premises; contents of a container damaged etc.

Source: Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS). Based on an analysis of 424 business insurance claims where the cause of loss occurred on December 25 between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2021, worth approximately €61mn in value. “Other” causes of loss account for 35% of the number of all claims. Claims total includes the share of other insurers in addition to AGCS.