It remains to be seen just how costly the damage will be from the tornado that ripped through Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, last week. The storm, which touched down on Wednesday, has damaged 47 homes, displacing 200 people, and knocking the power out for many more.
Dale Michie, branch manager and senior commercial account manager at
HUB International’s Portage La Prairie location, says damage could have been much worse had the storm hit the city itself.
“Claims have been moderate, and I say that because we are fortunate that it didn’t go right through Portage La Prairie, but the rural area – some areas are just devastated,” he says. “The losses were huge.”
He says that while claims adjusters are on site, it will take some time before there’s any idea of resulting insured loss. “Not any (idea) at all, until we get the adjustors out. Even the people that have phoned in claims – they’re saying, ‘We know we have a ton of damage, but how much, we’re not sure,’” he says.
“Most of these people have been without power since the storm, so there’s more immediate urgent needs that going out and assessing the property damange.”
He adds that it’s been a busy year for the province and western Canada in terms of claims, though this is the biggest natural catastrophe to hit the Portage La Prairie region.
“Obviously insurance companies have been extremely busy this time of year with all the losses that have taken place. The adjustors are certainly doing their best to get out and see everybody especially those in emergency situations, ” he says.
“I know they’ve had other major wind and hail losses around other parts of Manitoba, but in terms of Portage La Prairie, this is the largest.”
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