Russians are taking out home insurance en masse to protect against drone strikes
Against the backdrop of increasingly frequent drone attacks in Russia, demand for protective window films and property insurance is on the rise. People are trying to reduce the risk of injury from broken glass, while apartment and business owners are looking for policies that cover damage caused by drone strikes.
Russians are increasingly trying to prepare their apartments and offices for potential drone attacks. One of the most notable examples is the sharp rise in demand for special window films. According to Reuters, demand for impact-resistant films from the St. Petersburg-based company Solartek rose by approximately 50% in 2026. These films are applied directly to the glass. Their purpose is to hold the shards in place if a blast wave shatters the window.
Company manager Pavel Levit said that it’s not just ordinary residents who are interested in the product. The client base includes companies and government agencies. Solartek has offices in 13 regions of Russia. According to him, demand has grown so much that a shortage of this film has begun to emerge in the Russian market. “This product has become so popular that there is even a shortage of protective film on the Russian market,” Levit told Reuters.
People are afraid of broken windows
The reason for this demand is quite simple. During an explosion, the danger comes not only from the drone itself or structural debris. Window glass can also shatter into dangerous shards and scatter throughout the room. That is why residents are trying to reinforce their windows in advance. Protective film does not make the glass completely bulletproof and cannot protect a house from a direct hit. Its main purpose is to minimize the scattering of glass shards after a shock wave.
This method of protection is of particular interest to people living in areas where explosions have become more frequent recently and air defense systems are active. At the same time, Reuters notes that Russian attacks on Ukrainian drones are increasingly noticeable to ordinary residents. People are encountering not only reports of strikes on military or infrastructure targets but also damage to residential buildings.
Drones have begun to hit residential buildings more frequently
Ukraine states that its long-range drones are primarily aimed at military targets, defense industry facilities, fuel infrastructure, and other infrastructure critical to the war effort. At the same time, civilian facilities are also being damaged during attacks in Russia. This may occur due to debris falling from a downed drone or because the drone itself veers off course from its target.
One reason for such deviations may be electronic warfare systems. These systems interfere with the operation of drones and can alter their flight paths. For example, during an attack in Rostov-on-Don, several residential buildings were damaged. According to local authorities, four people were injured.
Because of such incidents, the fear of new strikes is no longer just an abstract story from the news for Russians. For residents of some cities, it has become a very real, everyday concern—how to protect their apartments, windows, and property.
Russians Have Begun Insuring Their Homes Against Drones
Another sign of growing anxiety is the demand for property insurance. According to Oleg Khanin, CEO of the company “Soyuz Insurance Brokers,” people previously showed almost no interest in insurance policies that could cover damage from drone strikes.
Now the situation has changed. He says the company has been inundated with inquiries from clients across Russia. They are calling and emailing with questions about insuring apartments and other real estate. “We’re sitting in [our Moscow] office, and clients from all over Russia are calling all our phone numbers and writing to all our email addresses,” Khanin said.
The company already offers separate insurance packages against drone attacks. This isn’t just about apartments. Such insurance may be of interest to owners of offices, stores, businesses, and other properties that could be damaged by an explosion or falling debris.
Demand for property insurance has also risen
The growing interest in insurance is also evident in the overall statistics. According to the Bank of Russia, in the first quarter of 2026, residents of the Northwestern Federal District purchased more than 600,000 property insurance policies. This is 44% more than during the same period in 2025. In St. Petersburg, the number of such policies rose by more than 60%.
At the same time, these figures cover property insurance in general, not just policies against drone strikes. Therefore, they cannot be directly equated with the number of policies taken out specifically due to such attacks. The Bank of Russia also reports that in the first half of 2026, 186.2 million insurance policies of all types were issued in the country. The total volume of insurance premiums for this period amounted to 2,021.7 billion rubles. Insurers separately note a rise in demand for home insurance, particularly amid the war and regular drone attacks.
Windows and insurance have become part of preparations for attacks
For many Russians, preparing for a possible strike now involves more than just stocking up on water or keeping a power bank charged. People have also begun to think about what will happen to their homes if a blast wave shatters the windows. Hence the demand for protective films. They cost significantly less than completely replacing windows and can reduce the risk of shattered glass scattering inside the room.
Another option is insurance. If an apartment or business is damaged, the owner can at least try to receive financial compensation for the damaged property. At the same time, the terms of such policies may vary, so specific risks and exclusions depend on the insurance company. The growing demand for such services shows that the war is having an increasingly strong impact on the daily lives of people in Russia. Until recently, insuring an apartment against a drone strike was an unfamiliar concept for most people. Now people are looking not only for ways to insure their property but also for simple means of physical protection—even for an ordinary window.
Reuters notes that as Russia’s parliamentary elections approach, public anxiety over the war is also growing. Frequent drone attacks are making the war feel more tangible to people who may previously have viewed it as something far removed from their own city or home.
On Thursday, September 10, Russian forces struck the “Gulliver” shopping center in Pavlohrad, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Earlier reports indicated four people were killed and 62 wounded, including three children aged 13, 14, and 15.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to the massive Russian attack on Ukraine and spoke about the consequences of the strike on Pavlohrad in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
