FBD expects that the net cost of Storm Emma for the insurance company will be between €6m and €8m.

It is still too soon to have an exact tally of the final claim count and gross cost of the snow storm which happened at the start of March, but FBD said its reinsurance programme provides the company with good cover.

Cork, Wexford and Wicklow are the top three counties for claims after Storm Emma. Approximately 70% of the claims made to FBD so far as a result of Storm Emma are from farmers.

There are fewer claims compared with previous storms, but those that have been submitted are of higher value. This is down to the increased damage to property. “Storm Emma was the worst snow storm the country has seen since 1982 and an unusual weather event for Ireland. So far, for FBD, it has been characterised by a smaller number of higher value claims than our more typical windstorms,” CEO of FBD Fiona Muldoon said.

“That said, I am pleased that our Catastrophe Property Reinsurance programme is working well to protect FBD and that the net cost of this storm will be contained at €6m to €8m.”

In storms such as Ophelia, wind would have taken slates off roofs, but, with the volume of snow that fell in Storm Emma, claims include those for whole roofs falling in. Storm Ophelia cost the insurer €5.4m net of reinsurance. It received almost 2,200 claims, with an approximate cost of €10m to €11m. In 2014, Storm Darwin hit 9,000 of FBD group’s customers, incurring claims of €36m which cost the company €15.2m net of reinsurance.

FBD made a profit of €50m in 2017 with €15m coming from the prior year.

Shares in the company have risen by 56% in the last year and are trading at just over €12 this week.

Farmers are still counting the cost of repairs after the storm, from fallen sheds to animals killed and sheep missing.

The IFA has estimated that cost to horticulture producers alone will be over €5m.