While waiting for the heating season, the inhabitants of many houses use electric heaters to try to heat the rooms chilled during damp, cool nights. This popular temporary solution is quite effective and unsafe at the same time, as outdated, unattended heaters, damaged extension cords and frayed cables cause several fires every year. The insurance joint-stock company BTA Baltic Insurance Company (hereinafter BTA) has had dozens of insurance cases caused by the ignition of unattended electrical devices, the use of unsuitable chargers or ignoring the power output of devices.

It becomes clear from the insurance claims submitted in previous years that the greatest threat to homes is devices connected to the electrical grid, which the residents have left unattended for a long time. These can be electric heaters, smart devices, and various lighting elements. A typical case was registered last year when the owners had left an electric torch in the bedroom to charge. It overheated, caught fire and exploded, igniting the bed mattress and carpet. The owners noticed what had happened in time and managed to put out the flames.

Two other families had a similar sad experience. One left the children’s toy car to charge and went to the store. When they returned in about 20 minutes, they found that the toy and the surface of the kitchen equipment were on fire, and the ceiling was black with soot. For the others, charging a toy battery led to extensive property damage.

“BTA regularly receives insurance claims for fires caused by damage to electrical installations or a short circuit. Unfortunately, with the increase in the number of various electrical devices, the cause of ignition is increasingly becoming the reason for devices left to charge for too long – rechargeable torches, electric toys, smart devices. Left on the electric mains for too long, they heat up and catch fire. Fires can also be caused by outdated electric heaters, as well as clothes left on them to dry. No matter how much we want to enter rooms that are already warm or charge various electrical devices while we are not at home, such behaviour is too dangerous and can lead to sad consequences,” Kārlis Liepiņš, Director of BTA’s Insurance Claims Department, calls on people not to leave electrical devices switched on or charging unattended devices with batteries connected to the mains. No less dangerous is the use of inappropriate chargers or the connection of devices that are not designed for the respective power to the home electrical network.


About BTA
BTA Baltic Insurance Company is one of the leading insurance companies in the Baltics, offering the broadest range of non-life insurance services in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. BTA employs more than 1,000 employees in the Baltics. The sole shareholder of BTA is Vienna Insurance Group AG (VIG), the leading insurance group both in Austria and in the entire Central and Eastern European (CEE) region. Around 50 insurance companies in 30 countries form a Group with a long-standing tradition, strong brands and close customer relations. The more than 25,000 employees in the VIG take care of the day-to-day needs of more than 22 million customers. VIG shares have been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since 1994. The VIG Group has an A+ rating with stable outlook by the internationally recognised rating agency Standard & Poor's. VIG cooperates closely with the Erste Group, the largest retail bank in Central and Eastern Europe.

Additional information:
Elīna Zvejniece
Marketing and Public Relations Department Director
BTA Baltic Insurance Company AAS
e-mail elina.zvejniece@bta.lv