French insurers to pay out €650 million in claims related to rioting

France's federation of insurance providers has estimated the cost of burned buildings and looted shops during recent rioting and demonstrations following the police shooting of a young man would cost companies at least €650 million.

A burnt vehicle in the northern French city of Roubaix on 30 June 2023. Most damage from the rioting was to businesses, with some filing claims for damage to private property, including vehicles. © Denis Charlet/AFP

As of Tuesday, a total of 11,300 insurance claims were filed for damages related to the riots – the vast majority from businesses and public facilities – according to France Assureurs, the federation of French insurance companies.

Some 3,900 businesses, government-owned buildings and vehicles authorities were impacted by the riots. The rest of the claims come from vandalism on private property, mostly cars set on fire.

Some businesses could see compensation for a loss of business due to hotel and restaurant cancellations, though the cost is difficult to assess and is not part of the claims. 

• Marseille counts the cost of a weekend of riots after police shooting

Businesses impacted

France’s ministry of economy, Bruno Le Maire detailed businesses targeted to the Parisien newspaper, including 436 tobacco shops, 370 banks, and some 200 food shops and grocery stores.

Many government-owned buildings, including town halls, police stations and schools were vandalized and busses and trams were burned.

IIe-de-France Mobilités, which manages Paris area transit, estimated 20 million euros of damage to public transit, with 39 buses burned.

Le #coût des dommages déclarés à la suite des violences urbaines de fin juin est déjà plus de 3 fois supérieur à celui des sinistres occasionnés par les 4 semaines d’#émeutes de 2005.
➡ Le coût total de ces sinistres s’élève à 650 millions d’euros.https://t.co/WMwe0MxyQ9

— France Assureurs (@FranceAssureurs) July 11, 2023

Education Minister Pap Ndiaye told RTL radio that some 240 schools were affected, 60 of which were seriously damaged or destroyed, and would cost several tens of millions of euros to repair.

Meawnhile, Le Maire has asked insurance providers to extend filing deadlines and reduce the deductibles where possible, particularly for small businesses.

In response, several insurers have extended claims deadlines between five to 30 days.

Comparisons to 2005

Florence Lustman, president of France Assureurs, said the damage is different from what occurred during the three weeks of rioting in 2005, after which insurers paid out 204 million euros for 10,000 claims, mostly from individuals for damage to their vehicles.

At the time, insurance companies had insisted that the state had a responsibility to cover costs because damages were caused as a result of demonstrations or gatherings that the government should have controlled.

The government denied its responsibility, saying that the damage was due to premeditated acts by small groups of people.

(with newswires)