Economy 2 min read By Alice Ashford
Only a quarter of Romanian homes are insured against natural disasters
Romania's financial regulator says only about a quarter of homes carry mandatory natural disaster cover, pointing to the need for wider insurance take-up and better household financial preparedness.
Only about a quarter of homes in Romania are covered by mandatory insurance against natural disasters, a situation that highlights the need to widen insurance coverage and improve households' financial preparedness, according to Alexandru Petrescu, head of the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF). Petrescu made the comments on Tuesday, as reported by Agerpres.
Petrescu said Romania has relevant experience in this area through its existing compulsory insurance framework. The figure he cited shows that the majority of residential properties remain outside that system, leaving most homeowners to bear the financial cost of earthquakes, floods and other natural hazards without guaranteed compensation.
The regulator's remarks put the spotlight on the gap between the compulsory scheme and the broader housing stock. For households, the implications are direct: without cover, repair or rebuilding after a disaster falls largely on the owner's own savings. Petrescu's emphasis on financial preparedness suggests that the authority sees insurance awareness and budgeting for risk as central to closing that gap.
The ASF oversees insurance and other non-bank financial markets in Romania, which gives its assessment of cover levels particular weight with policymakers and insurers. Any move to raise take-up would involve both the supply side, where insurers offer and price policies, and the demand side, where households must decide to buy cover.
Petrescu's comments come as the wider financial services sector in Romania continues to develop, and they frame household insurance as part of that picture rather than a standalone issue. The source material does not set out specific new measures, targets or deadlines, so the immediate significance lies in the regulator's public diagnosis of the coverage shortfall.
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