Martens cause vehicle damage worth 8 million francs
AXA alone reports 17,000 marten damage claims per year. The total damage amounts to 8 million francs. Motorhomes are affected twice as often.
Every year, the insurance group AXA receives an average of 17’000 marten damage claims.
The total damage to vehicles caused by martens amounted to around 8 million francs in the past year. Most marten damage claims are reported to AXA in the months of May and June, when the animals’ territorial behaviour is particularly pronounced. A marten damage claim costs on average around 450 francs. Motorhomes are particularly frequently affected.
Motorhomes: Twice as susceptible to marten damage
AXA’s damage frequency figures show that motorhomes suffer marten damage twice as often as passenger cars. «The higher damage frequency is linked, among other things, to the fact that motorhomes are more often parked in areas accessible to martens. In addition, they remain in the same location for longer periods, making it easier for the animals to settle in», says Fredy Egg, Head of Claims at AXA. Damage reports relating to motorhomes have risen steadily over recent years. Whereas there were still 338 cases in 2016, AXA received a total of 500 marten damage reports for motorhomes last year. The fact that Swiss people have been spending their holidays increasingly at home since the COVID-19 pandemic could explain this increase.
Mountainous regions are less affected
Certain regions have been less frequently affected by marten damage over recent years, as an analysis by AXA shows: In the cantons of Geneva, Valais, and Obwalden and Nidwalden, vehicle owners had significantly less cause for concern about marten damage. The risk of marten damage in these cantons is 60 to 70 per cent lower than the Swiss average. «Stone martens, the most common marten species in Central Europe, are found in Switzerland only up to moderate elevations. A mountainous canton therefore has significantly fewer animals than areas at lower altitudes», says Fredy Egg. Comparatively high numbers of damages were recorded in the cantons of Jura, Appenzell Innerrhoden, and Thurgau. More about coexisting with wildlife.
