14th annual Centennial Chargers Charity Classic begins Thursday
50m ago
The tournament has raised over $30,000 for various charities and other causes throughout Saskatoon.
An unforgettable hailstorm in August of 2021 is still giving people major headaches.
Nick Perry lives on a farm near Grand Coulee and his property incurred nearly $80,000 in damages.
Like everyone else, he was given two years to repair the damages to have them claimed. He said under normal circumstances, that would be reasonable. But due to COVID-19, he experienced many delays in the process.
“The doomsday clock with SGI started on August 31 of 2021,” said Perry.
He said it took three weeks just to get an assessment, then an additional five weeks to receive the forms he needed to hire a contractor.
By then, snow was already on the ground.
He started calling contractors in April of 2022, but didn’t hear back from any for three months.
One day, a contractor finally called him back.
“I was almost in tears. I pleaded with him, ‘Please don’t hang up,’ ” Perry said.
But the contractor couldn’t give him a quote because of supply shortages and unpredictable prices.
The contractor told him the material could come back at a higher cost and then he would be at a loss.
Perry thinks SGI completely neglected to take any of the delays caused by COVID-19 into consideration.
The clock is ticking as the time to submit claims related to the storm looms closer.
Perry said he was unable to get the help he needed and will have to pay for the damages out of his own pocket.
“It’s not fair. It’ll probably take me four years to save up that money,” he said.
In a statement, SGI said for insurance claims, repairs or replacement must be completed before the two-year anniversary of the date when damage to the insured property occurred.
“While this two-year limit exists in SGI Canada’s policy, we’re always willing to work with our customers to find solutions based on their circumstances,” an SGI representative said in an email.
“If a customer was experiencing delays completing their repairs, we’d encourage that customer to contact their adjuster to discuss the situation and arrive at solution that meets their needs.”
The hailstorm was dubbed “the costliest event ever” for the insurance company. Claims from the storm totalled around $105 million.
The storm pummeled the southern half of the province, including Regina and surrounding areas.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been amended to add more information from SGI.