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Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci has announced that the provincial government cannot extend the two-year deadline for insurance claims related to the May 2016 wildfires that affected numerous Fort McMurray residents.
The official revealed that his office does not have the capacity to make such changes.
“We don’t have the ability to grant blanket exemptions with regard to folks who haven’t made claims,” said Ceci at a meeting.
The finance minister met with Fort McMurray mayor Don Scott last week to discuss how to address the insurance issue, Fort McMurray Today reported.
However, Ceci offered assurances that the provincial government will work with the Insurance Bureau of Canada to ensure that policyholders who need an extension know what their possible options are.
“What we can do and are doing is we’re ensuring that the residents of Fort McMurray who need to have extensions have the support they need to request one,” he explained.
“If a person is coming up against that two year timeline and they’re finding their insurance company is being somewhat slow or not supportive, they can contact the superintendent of insurance and the superintendent will get information both from the insurer and the insured and work to get that person an extension so that they can take the time they need to resolve their claim properly.”
Scott, who sent Ceci a letter last month requesting a deadline extension, said that he was initially disappointed at the finance minister’s answer but was happy with how the meeting went. Scott also remarked that he understands that the government will try to help in other ways.
“I’m really asking the province to do a better job getting the message out,” the mayor told the media. “We want him to understand the importance of that issue.”
