For business owners returning to their establishments following a two-week wildfire evacuation, the road to recovery will be difficult.
While businesses affected by the wildfires have enjoyed benefits such as reduced payments for credit cards and rent, the same cannot be said regarding their insurance coverage.
“We have insurance but I don’t know if we’re going to get any money,” Rajinder Singh, owner of Robbie’s Motel in Cache Creek, told
Business in Vancouver. “We just don’t know yet.”
Search and compare product listings for insurance against Business Interruption from specialty market providers here
Although Robbie’s Motel was left untouched by the wildfires, smoke continues to fill the air in the area, which drove tourists away.
“Business disruption insurance doesn’t really cover an evacuation,” added Brenda Taylor, who owns Taylormade Cakes and Sweets. “They provide you with a very small amount and I’ve got to do all sorts of leaping through hoops to prove my expenses.”
Taylor had to close her bakery for a couple of days in July due to road closures preventing her family from returning to Williams Lake from a family reunion. Her family also had to evacuate for about two weeks.
Basic business insurance does not cover business interruption, explained Aaron Sutherland,
Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) director of government relations. Sutherland also said that the IBC does not track the percentage of business owners who have purchased business interruption insurance.
“It is business interruption insurance that is the key, as that is where we would see more of the insured claims coming in,” he said. “It is a kind of insurance that we suggest business owners buy.”
Sutherland noted that the cost of insurance is unlikely to rise following a severe fire season, because insurers expect to experience some years that are worse than others. He also said that insurers are well-capitalized for such disasters.
“As we continue to see these kinds of events happening more and more, both in this province and this country, it really is a reinforcement of the absolute value that insurance brings.”
In partnership with the Red Cross, the BC government is offering an emergency $1,500 grant for small businesses, First Nations and non-profits located in areas where a wildfire evacuation order was issued, or that were affected by highway closures.
Only those with fewer than 50 employees, have been in operation on or before July 07, 2017, that have been financially affected by the 2017 B.C. wildfires and have a net income of less than $250,000 per year can apply for the grant. Recipients must also have resumed business or intend to resume operations. Their business must also be their primary source of income.
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