As the US braces itself for its own Thanksgiving celebrations, Canada, it appears, is still recovering from a less than happy holiday period of its own. The storms that rocked Atlantic Canada on Thanksgiving Day caused more than $100 million in insured damages, the
Insurance Bureau of Canada has revealed.
The total bill accounts for claims on personal property, automobile and commercial policies.
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While damage occurred in all four Atlantic provinces, the majority was in Cape Breton, the Bureau said.
“This was a very big event,” said Amanda Dean, vice-president Atlantic with the bureau.
The damage includes basements ruined by sewer backups, shingles blown off roofs, and flooded cars and trucks, but the figure does not include damage to public infrastructure.
“We also know that some folks in those areas did not have a valid home insurance policy,” Dean said. “So when you take that into account, in addition to the damage that was done to provincial as well as municipal infrastructure, it’s a pretty significant amount.”
The majority of claims have been paid out, or are in the process of being paid, she said.
“When insurers are dealing with contractors and remediation companies and so on, sometimes as that work takes place the money will be paid out later on,” she said.
“So they’re basing some of that number on quotes. But a lot of that money has been paid out already.”
Insurance rates should not be affected by a one-time event such as a rainstorm, Dean said.
“So likely there’s not going to be any change in what we all see in terms of our policies,” she said.
However, she suggested that people discuss their coverage with their insurance representatives.
The data was provided by Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc., a company that surveys insurers following catastrophic events.
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