Fire insurance premiums are scheduled to increase by 5.6% on the 1st of January 2022, Belga news agency reports.
The increase is in line with the evolution of the Abex index, which is based on costs such as salaries and the prices of materials in the construction sector, Belga quoted l’Écho newspaper.
The Abex index went from 858 to 906 between November 2020 and November 2021, a jump that had not been observed since 2007, when premiums were indexed at 5.88%, according to l’Écho.
The index – based mainly on construction costs, which shot up in 2021 due to building material shortages – is “used by 98% of insurers to determine the evolution of premiums,” Abex President Alain Coppe explained. The new rates usually take effect each year on 1 January.
The Abex Index does not serve only to increase fire insurance rates. It is also used to automatically set insurance coverage limits, especially in the event of disasters.
