Faced with a large number of ice damage claims, brokers in Saskatchewan are advising their clients to keep their roofs clear during the strange winter months in the province.
“This is my fourth year here, and I haven’t dealt with a lot of [ice damage claims] until this year,” said Stephen Hordos of Hordos Insurance Brokers in Regina, Saskatchewan. “The rapid heating and rapid cooling has been disastrous. I just reported two more claims this morning….
“Keeping that roof clear would probably be your cheapest and most affordable way to prevent the damage from happening.”
Record snowfalls, in addition to rapid deep-freezes and melts this winter, have caused ice dams to build up on clients’ roofs.
Without proper insulation in the attic, or if the roof is not properly vented, heat gets trapped in the attic, warming the roof, except at the eaves. Snow melts on the warm roof, but then freezes at the cold eaves.
The ice forms a dam, and meltwater from the warm roof backs up under the dam, seeping under the shingles and into the house.
While advising clients to keep their roofs clear, there is only so much a client can do in the face of a bizarre weather pattern, said Bobby Joe Harreman of Lang Insurance. “There was so much snow, and there is only so much you can shovel, then it freezes. Then you shovel again and it freezes.”
Hordos said he expects insurance companies in the province will definitely have more claims this year because of the snow. “All insurance companies are definitely going to be taking a hit this year.”
Thus far, Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) has reported receiving 700 ice damage claims in 2013. This is almost seven times the 111 ice damage claims reported in all of 2011. Only six such claims were reported in 2012 and 22 in 2010, SGI reported.
SGI is recommending that policyholders check their insurance policies because not every policy covers ice damming.
