The IBC has called last June the most costly covered natural disaster in the history of Canada.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) has just released a report that has indicated that the most recent PCS-Canada figures, with estimates that state that the flood insurance and other coverage payouts for the flooding in southern Alberta have now broken the $1.7 billion mark.
This figure makes the natural disaster in the province the most costly that the country has ever seen.
According to the vice president of Western and Pacific at the IBC, Bill Adams, “It’s a staggering number that we expect will go even higher.” He added that “While the monetary cost of the floods is huge, the emotional toll on Albertans is incalculable. Insurers and IBC are committed to helping Albertans through the claims process as they clean up and rebuild their lives and communities.”
The record levels of flood insurance payouts all stem from the damage resulting from torrential rains.
A tremendous amount of rain fell from June 20 and June 24, throughout that region. The flooding killed four people and caused 100,000 people to have to flee their homes. The province of Alberta declared a state of emergency throughout a number of its southern communities. Flood insurance claims have been coming in ever since.
Directly after the flooding, there were approximately 5,000 flood insurance professionals brought in to help to concentrate on processing the claims as quickly and efficiently as possible. The residents were given information from the IBC regarding the ways in which to assess the damage that they had experienced, as well as proper claim filing procedures and ways in which to resolve disputes.
The IBC also coordinated with municipal, provincial, and federal governments in order to help not only with flood insurance issues, but with response and recovery. The bureau as well as its members are still working at full speed to help to manage the claim requests as fast as they possibly can so that the flood insurance policyholders will be able to resume their normal lives once again, for the first time in months.
