Floods that have swept across central Europe could cost Germany more than the devastating deluge of 2002, according to Fitch Ratings.

Economic losses are likely to total €12 billion ($16.72 billion), with gross insured losses of €2.5 billion to €3 billion ($3.48 billion to $4.18 billion).

“However, the insurance sector is likely to remain in underwriting profitability, meaning the impact on insurers’ credit profiles should be minimal,” Fitch says.

Insurers with high shares of home and contents policies will be hit the hardest.

Insured losses are so much lower than economic damage because many people in flood-prone areas cannot obtain natural hazard cover.

Annual claims across the market are about €50 billion ($69.68 billion) a year; the flood claims will be about 5-6% of that.

This would, on average, add between 3.5-5 percentage points to insurers’ gross combined ratios.

“Reinsurance will cushion this impact, with typical excess-of-loss reinsurance cover reducing the impact on the net combined ratio to between two and three percentage points,” Fitch says.

Flooding after several days of heavy rain in recent weeks has also affected the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, Slovakia, Belarus, Poland and Hungary.

More than 20 people are known to have died.