An ongoing dispute between a Nova Scotia municipality and its fire department has residents concerned not just about safety, but whether their insurance premiums might be hiked.
The Municipality of West Hants recently voted to continue contracting fire services to the Windsor Fire Department for the next 20 months, after which West Hants would set up its own service.
Subsequently, the fire department issued a statement saying it expected to use that time to work toward a deal. If one isn’t achieved, the department said it would stop providing fire services to West Hants as of Oct. 23.
If the municipality doesn’t pay what’s owed for services from June 1 to Oct. 23, fire services will be suspended on Sept. 30.
Amanda Dean, Atlantic vice-president for the
Insurance Bureau of Canada, told the
Chronicle Herald that there’s no need to panic when it comes to coverage in the West Hants area right now.
The availability of fire service is “very important but it’s only one of many, many factors that go into home insurance or business insurance premiums,” she said.
In fact, “so many factors go into premium evaluation that there may be no change (to premiums or coverage in this situation) at all,” Dean said, adding that all home and business owners in the area should contact their insurance agent about the situation to get specifics on their plans.
“Insurers don’t make snap decisions when it comes to things like this because … clearly the right officials are taking a look at what they need to do to provide these services to their customers,” she said. “Insurers will certainly be keen to learn what that decision is but it’s not going to impact right away, certainly.”
