Mitigating flood consequences: analysis of private flood insurance in Slovakia

Abstract The aim of this paper is to obtain more detailed information about flood insurance in municipalities of Slovakia situated in headwater basins. Analysis of insurance data from the period 2002–2011 showed a dramatic decrease in flood insurance. We found that the declining social status of the municipality's inhabitants is accompanied by a decrease in flood insurance policies. Further analysis revealed an increase in the number of flood insurance policies, flood insurance events and claims, with an increasing frequency of the occurrence of third‐level flood emergencies in municipalities. However, this influence was not substantiated when it came to the flood hazard potential of given municipalities. On the other hand, a comparatively high number of flood insurance events when no third‐level flood emergencies have been announced indicates that a relatively significant part of flood insurance events is caused by other types of flooding other than river flooding.