Facts & Figures

Picture taken Christmas day 2009 showing Ireland covered in snow.

• In December 2009, insurers dealt with almost 30,000 claims relating to damage to homes and businesses caused by burst pipes.
• Night-time temperatures below -10°C became a regular feature, reaching as low as -17.5°C in Co. Mayo on the 25^th of December.
• Ballyhaise Co Cavan had the coldest day on record at any station on the 21st of December when the temperature only got up to -9.4°C.
• Household claims cost €173.1m, while commercial claims amounted to €50.6m.
• The worst affected counties wereCork(€32.4m), Galway (€24.7m) andDublin(€20.2m)
• Some areas were disproportionately affected.Munsteraccounts for 28% of the population but accounted for approximately 40% of the claims cost, andLeinsteraccounts for 54% of the population but only accounted for 32% of the claims cost. The cost of claims in Connacht/Ulster was 28% of the total but accounts for only 18% of the population.

The top five worst affected counties in terms of cost per thousand people in each county were as follows:

Cost of December 2010 Freeze By Class :

Burst Pipes Statistics – Claims cost (household and commercial) per 1000 people by County: