After an electrical fire in January that destroyed her home, a Saskatoon woman is suing her insurance company of 20 years, Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI).
Gillian Snider told CTV News that her house is a “glorified empty cabin,” and has no walls, insulation, and only one power outlet.
Early this year, Snider’s home was ravaged by a fire that began in her attic before spreading to the rest of her home. While the structure of the house was saved by firefighters, the interior of the home had to be gutted.
According to CTV, Snider contacted SGI and found the insurance company initially helpful.
“SGI was great, our adjustor was great,” Snider commented in the news report. “But then two and half months into it, we just found out, ‘nope, we’re stopping your policy’.”
With contractors already starting on the demolition, Snider was left with a gutted house that had none of the basic necessities.
She has now filed a lawsuit against SGI, and though she declined to say why SGI stopped coverage, Snider did say that SGI told her it found an “anomaly” in her policy.
SGI would not comment on the case and has not yet filed a statement of defence. A statement to CTV News from the Crown said that it cares about its customers.
“In this industry, there are – on occasion – disagreements between an insurer and customer about insurance contracts. This is unfortunate, and when it happens, we try our best to resolve them to the customer's satisfaction.”
Meanwhile, Snider said in the news report that she wants SGI to be held accountable for the condition of her home.
“When the bottom line ends up being the dollar instead of concern for your client…I think people need to be aware that this is happening.”
