About 20 kilometres from the Ukrainian border, in the Polish village of Wiryki, debris from a Russian combat drone destroyed the roof of a residential house on Wednesday. The location is roughly the same distance from Ukraine as the Slovak town of Michalovce.
At least 19 Russian drones entered Polish territory overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, according to Polish authorities. The air force intercepted most of them, but debris was later discovered near Mniszków, southwest of Warsaw, which is approximately 250 kilometres from the eastern border. Apart from the house in Wiryki, no major damage was reported.
If a similar incident were to occur in Slovakia, insurers say homeowners would be left to cover the damage themselves. Current insurance policies exclude compensation for destruction caused by military means.
Excluded from insurance coverage
The Sme daily contacted major Slovak insurers on Thursday, and their responses were consistent: damage linked to war cannot be reimbursed.
“Claims arising in connection with war cannot be covered,” said Beáta Dupaľová Ksenzighová, a spokeswoman for the insurance company Union.
This means even if a house is insured against natural disasters such as fire, wind or flood, any repair costs following a drone strike would have to be paid by the owner. The only relief might come from the state, if it decided to compensate victims as it occasionally does in cases of natural disasters like floods.
Uniqa spokeswoman Beáta Lipšicová noted that war damage is classified as an “uninsurable risk” because its scope and intensity are unpredictable and potentially massive. Providing such coverage would require insurers to set premiums so high that clients would not be able to afford them.
Covering war-related damages, she said, could “threaten insurers’ ability to meet obligations to all clients, given the enormous volume of payouts required in a short time.”
Limited exceptions
Allianz confirmed a similar stance. Its spokeswoman Helena Kanderková said drone damage would be covered under its standard policies only if it were not connected to a military conflict.
Coverage applies to accidents involving aircraft, including drones heavier than five kilograms or equipped with cameras or other payloads. In addition, some insurers offer liability insurance for drone operators, as required by law for certain categories. If an insured drone pilot causes property or health damage, the case can be treated as an insurable event.
For now, however, Slovak households remain unprotected against destruction from warfare, including potential incidents involving drones crossing the Ukrainian border.
