A mere 8,5% or 313 983 estates in Bulgaria are insured against earthquakes, and a little over 10% – from floods. The data comes from the analysis of the Commission for financial supervision. “These levels are extremely low. In the rest of the European Union, 60% of the real estates are insured from similar risks, and in the US – 87%”, commented Krasimir Stankov, insurer and member of the union for management of catastrophe risks.

Insurance against natural disasters is not mandatory in Bulgaria, despite the attempts of the insurance business to make people purchase such policies every year. “In mid September we will present this matter to the financial minister once again”, said Stankov.

The real estate insurance are among the cheapest products on the market, insist insurers. The financial supervision compared the premium that the client pays on a yearly basis for flood and earthquake protection of an insured property worth 60 000 leva. The insurance against earthquakes depends mostly on the location of the real estate in relation to the four earthquake zones. Usually this risk is not included in the main insurance against disasters and it’s paid for separately.

An apartment worth 60 000 leva in the riskiest zone, which includes Pazardzhik, Stara Zagora and Ihtiman, can be insured for the significant sum of 114 – 240 leva. The furniture insurance costs between 57 and 137 leva. A home in Sofia can be protected for a price between 49 and 132 leva per year. The insurance in Varna, Burgas, Dobrich and Kardzhali is the cheapest – between 6 and 18 leva per year, with additional 3-12 leva for furniture. Usually the older and taller buildings require additional payment. If the apartment is above the 6th floor, the sum increases by 5-10%. If the building is over 20 years old, the additional payment is between 5 and 15%.

The price of the basic insurance “Fire and natural disasters”, which also includes floods, varies between 12 and 24 leva per year in the various companies. Only one of the companies offers the package for 143 leva. If the flood is not included in the main risks, it usually requires an additional payment between 3 and 48 leva. If a citizen wants to insure his furniture as well, he has to pay another sum, ranging between 4 and 66 leva.