Emergency response from the MBC Group to Fort McMurray flooding
May 4, 2020 MBC GroupGATINEAU, QC, MAY 4, 2020/insPRESS/ – We are closely monitoring the situation in Fort McMurray and our Engineers, Environmental Consultant and Appraisers are readily available to provide emergency assistance on existing and future flood related claims. Our team leads: Ross…
Ecclesiastical Insurance offers advice on mitigating flood damage during the COVID-19 pandemic
May 1, 2020 Ecclesiastical InsuranceTORONTO, ON, MAY 1, 2020/insPRESS/ – Spring overland flooding has already caused extensive damage in Northern Alberta, in what is likely only the first significant flood event in Canada this season. Under normal circumstances, damage caused by floodwater can be…
Ice jam that caused flooding, evacuation in Fort McMurray melting
April 30, 2020 THE CANADIAN PRESSFORT MCMURRAY, Alta. – An ice jam on the Athabasca River is nearly half the size it was earlier this week when it caused major flooding in Fort McMurray and forced 13,000 people from their homes. The Regional Municipality of…
Chief medical health officer eases COVID rules in Alberta flood areas: premier
April 29, 2020 THE CANADIAN PRESSFORT MCMURRAY, Alta. – Premier Jason Kenney says the province’s chief medical officer of health is relaxing some COVID-19 restrictions for people who are dealing with flooding in northern Alberta. Kenney says in a tweet sent out late Tuesday that…
Flooding in Fort McMurray leads to request for military assistance from Ottawa
April 27, 2020 THE CANADIAN PRESSFORT MCMURRAY, Alta. – Flooding in northern Alberta has led to mandatory evacuations in Fort McMurray and a request to the federal government for military assistance. “We have requested assistance from the federal government as we face this new crisis,”…
New evacuation order in B.C. as flooding affects central Interior
April 24, 2020 THE CANADIAN PRESSVANCOUVER – A flood warning has been issued for a river near Prince George, British Columbia, after it rose nearly 35 centimetres in a day. The B.C. River Forecast Centre, which assesses water supply, flood risk and predicts flows in…
Educating yourself about flood coverage while cooped up at home
April 1, 2020 by Greg MeckbachLooking for a free course that will give you continuing education credits without having to leave your house? The Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation recently launched a 1.5-hour online home flood risk course for brokers anywhere in Canada. “It helps…
The thinking behind IBAC’s ‘light-hearted’ flood and earthquake education campaign
February 13, 2020 by Greg MeckbachWhile the Insurance Brokers Association of Canada (IBAC) is encouraging homeowners to contact brokers about earthquake and overland flood risk, it is not aiming to shock or scare the living daylights out of consumers. “We consciously chose not to use…
Ottawa’s latest response to calls for government flood insurance
January 27, 2020 by Greg MeckbachIt’s been three years since brokers called for a government backstop for residential flood losses, but Ottawa is not specifically committing to any particular model of government-run insurance for homes at high risk of flood. At the moment it is…
Canada’s biggest insurance losses in 2019
January 22, 2020 by Greg MeckbachInsured damage from floods, rain, snow and windstorms reached $1.3 billion in 2019, the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) reported Tuesday, citing data from Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ) “Like 2018, no single event in 2019 caused the high…
The downside for brokers of better commercial flood mapping
November 13, 2019 by Greg MeckbachCommercial brokerages are going to have to start buying the same data on commercial flood risk that insurance carriers are already buying, says a Toronto commercial broker. Insurers tend to have data on the claims history of commercial property, and…
How change of backyard elevation spawns liability risk
November 12, 2019 by Greg MeckbachA London, Ont. homeowner is in legal trouble because the water that was supposed to flow east from his neighbour’s backyard, across his property, started going the wrong way 12 years ago. In Dankiewicz v. Sullivan, released Nov. 4, Justice…