Cleaning snow from the roof and icicles that have formed in the gutter is the responsibility of the building owner, but unfortunately not all owners do this. Therefore, every winter there are more and more cases in which both vehicles and people are injured due to snow falling from the roof or gutter.
If the vehicle has comprehensive insurance, the car owner will have to take care of it, but the costs will be compensated by the insurance. This also applies if the vehicle is damaged by ice and snow on the highway. For example, it is not uncommon in winter for ice or snow to fall on the oncoming car from a moving truck, or for it to hit a large piece of ice on the road, breaking the car’s bars.
In winter there are 20% more car accidents
According to the insurance broker Coop Bank, during the snowy winter from December to February there are 20% more car accidents than in other periods, because the risk factors are significantly higher during this period. Due to rapid changes in weather conditions, the braking distance of cars increases, and the dark period, when visibility is worse, lasts longer. This is why Piibor recommends all road users to keep a sufficient distance from drivers in front and, if possible, to avoid running into ice jams. Snow and ice accumulated in the wheel arches should also be removed regularly in winter, which can cause the car to understeer.
Piibor cites the example of a recent accident in which a driver drove in front of another motorist on the main road through high snowdrifts in the darkness. The road insurance compensated the victim’s loss and the vehicle that caused the accident was repaired for 8,000 euros at the expense of the insurance company. “Motorists can be very careful in traffic, but accidents often happen independently of us. Therefore winter, when the risks are higher, is the best time to think about comprehensive insurance and check the validity and conditions also of other insurance companies,” Piibor said.
Recommendations for homeowners
In addition to car owners, all homeowners should also be very careful and vigilant in winter, so that the snow accumulated on the roof does not damage the building structures with its weight, and if it falls from it, does not injure the cars parked in front of the house or pedestrians moving there. The homeowner is also responsible for shoveling snow and clearing ice from the sidewalk in front of the home in the winter.
If these works are not carried out and an accident occurs there, it should be kept in mind that building insurance only helps to compensate for damages if it also includes civil liability insurance. Liability insurance only helps if, despite the building owner’s care, damage occurs to another person. For example, a block of ice falls from the roof onto a car or a person. Such losses can range from several thousand to several hundred thousand euros.
Piibor recalls two such incidents. In the first case, the sidewalk in front of a store in a small town was slippery, causing the mother of the family to fall and break her collarbone. As a result, the victim could not go to work for a long time. The compensation claim for lost wages and pain compensation amounted to 5,000 euros, which was covered by the shop owner’s liability insurance. In another case, a block of ice fell from the roof of an apartment building onto a car and the extent of the damage was estimated at 4,000 euros. Since the homeowner’s liability insurance covered the damage, there was no dispute over its payment.
Liability insurance helps
In winter, condominiums should also be particularly vigilant, as they have a legal obligation to remove icicles from their roofs. “To avoid possible problems and complex disputes, it would be worth finding out now whether your condominium association still has insurance with liability insurance that compensates for major losses,” Piibor said. You clarified that civil liability insurance also compensates for damages suffered by third parties, who could be the inhabitants of the condominium.
Piibor added that clearing snow from roofs is also necessary for the building itself to remain healthy. “When it’s cold, even a 30-40 cm layer of snow on the roof of the lighthouse may not be dangerous, but when the thaw comes, this amount of snow becomes very heavy. As a result the structures could break and the roof could even fall “, explained Piibor, recalling that most insurance companies do not compensate for damage caused by the weight of the snow. “Some societies consider damage caused by snow weight to be unpredictable and unexpected only if it has snowed so much at once that it cannot be cleared away,” Piibor explained.
However, melting snow can also cause other damage. For example, snow falling from the roof drags the gutters with it or falls with all its weight on a person walking past the house or on a car parked there. “Moreover, there have also been cases when snow and ice got under the roof, melted and poured into the room through the ceiling. Furthermore, such accidents are not compensated by most insurance companies,” he provided a Piibor example.
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2023-12-08 13:30:00
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