Building homes knowing there is a strong chance they could be flooded by nearby lakes and rivers may seem nonsensical but its common practice in Canada.
However, in a sign of things that may possibly be to come nationwide, the Quebec government has started moving its perennially deluged residents and their homes out of flood zones, permanently. If a home is condemned because of flooding the house gets demolished and if there’s a likelihood of the property flooding again within the next 20 years, it mustn’t be rebuilt according to Quebec provincial law.
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To compensate, the Quebec provincial government is offering residents up to $250,000 to relocate upon denying a rebuild permit.
Though restricting the construction of homes on high-risk flood plains doesn’t sound revolutionary, it’s barely been enforced across the country. Homes are often being built with three sump pumps and, as Suzanne Michaud, VP at CAA-Québec, put it, the contractor didn’t install them for fun.
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“If the people in the flood zone try to look for flood insurance, because since March a few insurers in Quebec have started to offer (overland) flood insurance like
Desjardins and
Intact, probably for those (high risk) people the premium would be so high. A lot of people will do the same thing… say ‘forget it, it’s too expensive, we cannot afford it’,” Michaud said.
“So if collectively we decide not to rebuild the houses in flood zones, everybody will be happy. Right now everybody pays for it: the provincial government for the house, the cities when they send people to clean after or protect the house, and so on.”
For now, CAA-Québec doesn’t offer overland flood insurance but is planning to roll out a policy by 2018 following the
Insurance Bureau of Canada’s endorsement.
However, despite the positive developments, Michaud isn’t certain overland flood coverage will become widely affordable and available in Quebec.
“Will it make it more affordable? Not sure,” she said. “I’ve seen other provinces where it’s already offered and sometimes the cheapest deductible was $5,000. I saw a company that had their highest deductible at $100,000. It makes you go ‘Oh! That’s a deductible?’
“I’m not sure for the people in the flood area if it will be that affordable. Probably, for the people really at risk, some insurer will say ‘no, we can’t even offer you a deductible’ because it’s not a risk of flooding over 100 years it’s a risk of flooding every two years.”
Do you believe it’s time to move residents out of flood-prone areas? Leave a comment below with your thoughts.
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