One insurer has apologized to the Montreal foster family who saw their home policy terminated because they had more than two foster children – but predicated that apology by only offering a two-month extension to their policy.
The apology from Wawanesa Insurance came one day after CBC News broke the story about the foster mother from LaSalle, Que. whose name was not released to protect the identity of her five foster children.
“Our priority is the well-being of our clients, and the letter did not meet our standards,” Claude Auclair, the company’s Quebec vice-president, told CBC News. “It was not representative of what we do normally. We have to be respectful, and this letter fell short.”
Auclair said the family’s case is rare, but the company takes the matter seriously.
“We are taking steps to resolve the issue to make sure their needs are met,” he said.
Wawanesa does not provide home insurance to families with more than two foster children.
“It was an insult because it still doesn’t rectify what they’ve done,” said the Montreal foster mother. “They never even called us to advise us that they’re cancelling our policy — they just sent the letter in the mail. So it was a shock, and giving us a phone call today to apologize for what’s been happening — it’s a slap in the face.”
The Quebec Federation of Foster Families has referred them to another insurance company and they are awaiting a quote.
“They said they will look into it — if there is anything they can do — but they still didn’t offer to keep us on as a client,” she said. “They just offered to extend it because they cannot accommodate us with having foster children in our home.”
