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While the smoke has cleared in Denare Beach, life is anything but normal for resident Linda Lowe.
Her family’s home of 31 years was burned down by wildfire. What was supposed to be a relaxing summer holiday from her job in the school division will now be filled with the overwhelming task of navigating the insurance process for all that was lost.
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“I’m fortunate, I cannot imagine going back to work full time and having to deal with all the juggling that’s going to take place with the insurance. I’m fortunate that I have this summer off that I’ll just be sitting at my computer constantly.”
Lowe joins thousands of Saskatchewan residents making claims due to wildfires.
SGI Canada alone has received over 1,300 wildfire related claims so far. Of those, about 750 were for home and property while more than 560 were auto claims.
Lowe said she is dealing with four separate companies to get all her insurance figured out: SGI, TD Insurance, and the two companies TD outsourced her claims to.
While the total impact of the wildfires in Saskatchewan is still unknown, what is known is last summer was the most expensive on record in Canada for catastrophic weather events, including the wildfires in Jasper.
According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, there were 228,000 insurance claims and over $8 billion in insured damage. Experts say these events are placing pressure on insurance premiums across the country.
Emily Proulx, branch manager at Hub Insurance in Prince Albert, said those living in high-risk areas, like Lowe in Denare Beach, will see the worst of home insurance inflation.
Proulx pointed to the aftermath of the wildfire situation in California where many insurance companies cancelled existing policies, restricted new ones or stopped writing them all together.
While she doesn’t expect the situation to become that dire in Saskatchewan, she has seen some concerning cases herself. When the Shoe Fire near Candle Lake was at its peak, people buying homes in Prince Albert, over 50 km away, were being denied coverage.
“We were trying to put insurance on those properties, and we were getting flat out ‘nos’ from the insurance companies. When you look at the map, they will use a pin drop, a radius depending on who the insurance company is, it might be 50 kilometres, it might be 75 kilometres.
“In one conversation that I had with an underwriter, they used the word ‘threat’. They didn’t even bring kilometres into the conversation. So, backing up to these properties that we were trying to insure, the houses were in Prince Albert, there were fire hydrants down the street.”
Proulx said after some deliberation, insurance companies looked at the homes on a case-by-case basis and later approved those polices.
Her best piece of advice for the public is to review insurance policies regularly.
“Am I insured for enough?’ I think people are surprised by what we accumulate in content. In the house as well, but especially in the garage, if people are buying a tool here or a tool there, those things cost money to replace,” said Proulx.
Back in Denare Beach, Lowe and her family are left trying to recall every item they lost. She said her family plans to rebuild in the community. Until the insurance claims come through and they can start the process, she’ll spend the summer in a camper trailer supplied by a family friend.
— by Nick Nielsen
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