All Saints' Day and All Saints' Day are almost here, when residents traditionally go to visit their relatives' graves. However, cases are recorded every year when residents find vandalized graves or damaged monuments. According to "Lietuvos dramidu" data, grave sites are usually destroyed by high winds and malicious persons, and the average amount to cover the damage is about 650 euros.
As Artūras Juodeikis, Head of the Claims Department of "Lietuvos Dramudis", observes, cemeteries often suffer from strong winds, especially when recent natural disasters bring more and more losses to the country's residents.
"Recently, residents' property has suffered significant losses due to high winds, and the graves of loved ones are no exception. There are cases when a broken tree or its branch breaks a tombstone, and a collapsing monument can also damage the adjacent cemetery. When assessing the damages of the last seven years, the average loss payment was almost 700 euros", A. Juodeikis comments on the situation.
According to an insurance expert, it is very unfortunate, but not only nature brings painful losses. It is increasingly popular to design grave sites in such a way that they require as little maintenance as possible, which is convenient for long fingers.
"Theft, vandalism and other unpleasant incidents do occur in cemeteries, when evil-doers vandalize cemeteries. A few years ago, we faced a situation where a large sculpture of an angel was stolen, so we paid out 1,5 thousand. euros to cover the loss. Long fingers are also attracted by various sculptures, vases, monuments, crosses.
On the other hand, we notice that people are setting up their graves more delicately, and large granite slabs are becoming more and more popular. However, if they crack, you also have to pay a considerable amount for their repair, in which case insurance coverage helps to avoid financial losses," says an expert from "Lietuvos dramudis".
According to A. Juodeikis, interest in cemetery insurance usually increases in November. This is natural, because when visiting nearby graves, residents often discover damage or record the theft of gravesite elements.
"Insurance protection applies to stationary elements of cemeteries, such as monuments, tombstones, fences, benches. However, the ban also includes exceptions, for example, temporary wooden monuments or objects without a foundation are not prohibited", says A. Juodeikis.
The expert also notices that most of the graves are forbidden by elderly residents, mostly women.
"Inhabitants of the 52-67 age group mostly choose this protection along with property insurance. This provides security that you won't have to face additional costs and worries due to losses caused by thieves or natural elements", observes A. Juodeikis.
According to the data of "Lietuvos drimadu", the grave sites are mostly forbidden by the residents of the big cities of Kaunas, Vilnius, Panevėžys, as well as the residents of smaller cities living in Zarasai, Vilkaviški, Marijampolė.
