Vjesnik building insured as commercial building – no compensation losses

The Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets decisively negates media headlines that Vjesnik is insured as a residential building and that the state might lose millions because of it. The Vjesnik building has been insured with Croatia osiguranje insurance company for over ten years, and the insurance policy has been regularly renewed. It was last renewed two months ago.

The insurance policy was contracted by the building manager - BMD d.o.o. from Sesvete - on behalf of all the co-owners of the Vjesnik building and Croatia osiguranje. The policy refers to the entire Vjesnik complex, including the skyscraper, the annex and the surrounding buildings comprising 44,810.79 m2. The policy, inter alia, covers damage caused by fire.

The Croatia osiguranje insurance company was aware that the building in question is a commercial building when providing the offer and determining the premium and the insurance coverage. We also point out that the contracted insurance amount of 53,548,894.05 euro covers the risk of fire up to 1,195 euro/m2. Naturally, the actual compensation amount will be determined after damage assessment.

Terminology does not make any difference in this case - the policy states “residential” building because the policyholder is the property manager, but the building has been insured under the same conditions as other commercial buildings in Zagreb.

When the policy was renewed in 2025, the insured value was increased from 7.5 million euro to 53.5 million euro, because the floor area covered also increased. The new policy additionally insured the entire Vjesnik complex, i.e. it also included parts which were previously not covered.

The insurance amount per square metre was also increased in such a way that the maximum compensation payment rose to 1,195 euro/m2 from the previous 500 euro/m2.

As a result, there will be no compensation losses for the building’s co-owners, including the state as the majority co-owner with 64% of shares, because the insurance amount is clearly defined by the policy and because the building has been insured as a commercial building.

This has also been confirmed by the insurance company itself. Croatia osiguranje has confirmed the damage has already been reported. They state they will pay for all covered damage, in accordance with the legislative deadlines upon inspection and upon determining the cause of the fire and following the completion of police and expert inspections.

Construction of connecting road agreed

Earlier this morning Minister Branko Bačić and Mayor Tomislav Tomašević held an on-site meeting with experts from the Croatian Centre for Earthquake Engineering.

It is still not possible to enter the Vjesnik building and carry out an inspection, Minister Bačić said. The report on the building’s structural stability by the Croatian Centre for Earthquake Engineering is expected by Sunday evening.

“Based on the report, it will probably be possible to enter the building next week, carry out the inspection and carry out all necessary activities”, the Minister said.

At the meeting, according to Article 129 of the Building Act, it was agreed with the City to enable the implementation of a traffic solution in order to facilitate traffic flow in this part of the city, where the southern part of Slavonska avenija is closed off due to potential debris falling off the Vjesnik building, he said.

“The City will prepare the project and very soon the works will start on developing a connecting road to enable better traffic flow,” Minister Bačić said.

Mayor Tomašević clarified that the underpass near Vjesnik remains closed until further notice, but alternative routes to enable “some traffic flow” towards the eastern part of the city are underway.

“The idea is to maintain at least some traffic flow at this intersection towards the east. It cannot replace the underpass, but it can make things easier. Currently there are two lanes heading west, and we wish to make at least one more, and hopefully two, heading east,” Mayor Tomašević said.

“This is the idea, but the situation is very complex. Unfortunately, it won’t be possible by Monday because for this kind of works, and we are talking about serious construction works and possible road expansion, we will need at least a week,” he added.

Minister Bačić stated that, upon receiving the report by HCPI, further steps would be taken regarding the future status of the skyscraper, and that a decision on the development of the entire complex had already been made at the Government level.

“We talked with the co-owners, with whom we hold regular meetings, and expressed our view that we would like to purchase all their shares. We commissioned the High Appraisal Commission to assess the value of the complex. We received the assessment and delivered it to the co-owners, we were trying to reach an agreement, however, this happened in the meantime and now the situation is different,” the Minister said.

When asked how the young individuals connected to the fire at Vjesnik managed to enter the building past the security guards, the Minister said he does not know.

“This complex has its manager, it is covered by a 24-hour security service responsible for monitoring and controlling that part. The investigation will show how these young people managed to enter the building, I don’t have that piece of information,” he said.

HCPI installs measuring devices

Mario Uroš from HCPI stated that measuring devices have been installed in the building to measure cracks, structural stability and concrete quality, and that they could offer some conclusions for further steps by Sunday.

“Now we wait to see what happens with the cracks. Additionally, numerical calculations and analyses are conducted to determine the temperature on certain floors. We will roughly assess the remaining structural resistance to its own weight, and not to mention to the effects of wind or vibrations, which could potentially happen,” Uroš said.

We also use a sclerometer to determine the remaining concrete quality. We measure the levels and thickness of protective layers and the amount of waste on these protective layers, as well as the contact between reinforcement and concrete, he added.

Related news:

• Minister Bačić: We did everything we were supposed to do as co-owners of Vjesnik building
• Minister Bačić: Experts will assess whether to renovate or demolish Vjesnik skyscraper
• Structural engineers: Vjesnik skyscraper still dangerous, no one can enter
• Fire in the Vjesnik skyscraper still not extinguished
• Minister Bačić called emergency meeting to determine further steps after the fire in Vjesnik skyscraper
• Fire in Zagreb's Vjesnik

Source: MPGI/HINA

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