Background information

The regions of Limburg and Noord-Brabant were hit by extreme flooding in July 2021. The event has been declared a disaster by the government, which is why the government is deploying the Disaster Damage Compensation Act (Wet tegemoetkoming schade bij rampen, Wts). The Disaster Damage Compensation Act is a safety net for damage that is not insurable, not recoverable and not avoidable. For cases where current insurance options were not widely known, the government decided to be more generous. In case of future disasters, such damages are deemed to be insured and will not be covered by this Act.

Content of measure

To qualify for compensation, a person must have suffered damage in the defined area. The damage area consists of parts affected by flooding, runoff water from extreme rainfall or a combination of both.

The amount of the allowances are set by category: individuals, companies, religious organisations, associations and foundations and public authorities.

Individuals with uninsurable, unavoidable and unrecoverable damage may be eligible for

• an allowance of 90% of the damage to the home,
• 90% of the amount of damage up to €36,000 to the household contents,
• 65% of the cost of cleaning up or preventing worse damage (salvage costs),
• evacuation costs (minimum €304 and maximum €597).

In distressing cases, the government has decided it is also willing to look sympathetically at compensation for damage to a vehicle that, from an economic point of view, does not reasonably qualify for All-Risk or Casco insurance.

Companies that have uninsurable, unavoidable and unrecoverable damage may be eligible for compensation for:

• damage to fixed and current assets, crop plan damage, livestock damage, start-up costs,
• 65% of the cost of cleaning up or preventing worse damage (salvage costs),
• evacuation costs of 100% (minimum compensation of €901 even if costs are lower).

Companies pay a maximum of €6,014 in excess. Damage above the amount of € 17,183 is fully compensated. For damage below this amount, a 65% compensation applies.

Religious communities, associations or foundations with uninsurable, unavoidable and non-recoverable damage may qualify for an indemnity of:

• 90% of the damage to buildings,
• 90% of the amount of damage, up to €36,000 to household effects,
• 65% of the cost of cleaning up or preventing worse damage (salvage costs),
• evacuation costs (minimum €304 and maximum €597).

Public authorities with uninsurable unavoidable and unrecoverable, damage may be eligible for compensation of

• 58.5% of damage to public infrastructure,
• 58.5% of damage to current and fixed assets,
• 65% of the cost of cleaning up or preventing worse damage (salvage costs),
• evacuation costs of 100% (minimum compensation of €901 even if costs are lower).

A number of municipalities have been severely affected by flooding. As the Disaster Damage Compensation Act only meets part of these costs, these municipalities are compensated with a specific payment. This concerns the municipalities of Valkenburg aan de Geul, Gulpen-Wittem, Meerssen and possibly several others.

Use of measure

Many people have been helped by the application of this Act. By early January 2023, over 2,100 applications had been settled by the government. This consisted of

• 1,631 private individuals with a total sum of €6,899,091 and an average compensation of €4,230,
• 730 agricultural holdings with a total sum of €13,793,090 and an average compensation of €18,895,
• 419 business with a total sum of €26,282,845 and an average compensation of €62,728,
• 129 religious institutions with a total sum of €8,928,222 and an average compensation of €69,211 and
• 35 government agencies with a total sum of €6,861,442 and an average compensation of €196,041.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Applies to all workers	Applies to all businesses	Applies to all citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Local / regional government	National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Unknown	Unknown
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Unknown
• Main level of involvement: N/A

Involvement

No involvement known. The Disaster Damage Compensation Act already existed and could be put into use directly.

Views and reactions

No specific views of social partners known. In general, citizens reactions' ranged from very positive (generally those who have been compensated generously) to very negative (for those who did not receive adequate compensation in their own view).

Sources

• 13 August 2021: Kabinet presenteert schaderegeling wateroverlast Limburg en Noord-Brabant (www.rijksoverheid.nl)
• 31 January 2023: Procesevaluatie afhandeling waterschade Zuid-Nederland (open.overheid.nl)