New basement flood awareness training for home insurance brokers
June 14, 2018 by Greg MeckbachA course on basement flooding risk will likely be available to Canadian property and casualty insurance brokers within the next year, Blair Feltmate, head of the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation, told Canadian Underwriter Monday. The Intact Centre also plans…
Toronto’s Eaton Centre mall springs a leak after rain storm
June 14, 2018 The Canadian PressTORONTO – Even the iconic Eaton Centre mall wasn’t a refuge from the rain as a storm rolled through downtown Toronto on Wednesday afternoon. Numerous people posted videos on Twitter as water poured from the ceiling of the shopping centre.…
An overlooked consequence of basement flooding
June 13, 2018 by Greg MeckbachIf your home insurance client is an entrepreneur, consider what happens to that client’s business if his or her home basement gets flooded. A case in point is Laila and Zafar Ismaili, a married couple who own Enviro Digital Printing…
Rise of the Machines
June 11, 2018 Mazen Habash, president and consulting forensic engineer, Origin and CauseAppliance Fire and Flood Claims – Part 1
More hurricanes, or just better detection?
June 7, 2018 by Jason ContantIs the number of Canadian hurricanes getting larger, or are we just better at detecting them? Bob Robichaud, warning preparedness meteorologist with the Canadian Hurricane Centre (CHC), raised the question during a webinar on the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction…
Where Canada sits with overland flood insurance
June 5, 2018 by Greg MeckbachFive years after massive flooding caused more than $4 billion in uninsured losses in Alberta, more than a dozen insurers representing about three-fourths of Canada’s property insurance market are now covering overland flood. Sixteen insurers representing 77% of the market…
New Brunswick says flood hit homes may not get approval for rebuild
June 5, 2018 Kevin Bissett - THE CANADIAN PRESSFREDERICTON – New Brunswick flood victims may not be able to rebuild their homes – or only rebuild after significant mitigation efforts like raising them. The destructive, record-setting spring floods along the Saint John River and other waterways have prompted…
Economical rolls out Vyne for brokers in select areas
June 4, 2018 by Jason ContantEconomical Insurance launched its new broker technology, Vyne, in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island Monday. For use in personal lines and individually rated commercial auto (IRCA), Vyne is a Guidewire-based computer system aimed at streamlining workflows for brokers. The…
Government-backed home flood insurance coming to Canada?
June 3, 2018 by Greg MeckbachFederal government officials are pondering a flood insurance system similar to Britain’s two-year old Flood Re, an Insurance Bureau of Canada official suggested Thursday. Federal public safety minister Ralph Goodale “asked IBC to lead a working that will deliver recommendations…
Communities using development permits to reduce risk of wildfire: ICLR
May 31, 2018 by Jason ContantReducing the risk of wildfire, several communities in western Canada are using development permits as a way to address construction of new residential development in the wildland-urban interface, the Institute for Catastrophe Loss Reduction (ICLR) noted in a recent report.…
How new overland flood policies affect disaster assistance eligibility
May 29, 2018 by Jason ContantGiven recent flooding in Grand Forks and other areas of B.C., questions remain about the interplay between overland flood policies and how Disaster Financial Assistance (DFA) in B.C. factors into the response. Various insurance coverages for overland flood are new,…
Kinder Morgan begs the question: Is civil disobedience an insured risk?
May 27, 2018 by Jason ContantWith continued legal challenges and protests surrounding construction of the proposed new Kinder Morgan pipeline, potential insurance repercussions could be just around the corner. An Insights West opinion poll released last month found that more than one in 10 British…