About 70,000 home insurance claims have been received by Quebec insurers since the torrential rains of August 9, the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) said Tuesday, adding that unusual delays in processing the claims should be expected.
Taking stock as claims continue to come in, the BAC said the number was “more than ten times the usual volume.”
The BAC wished to inform the victims that everything is being done by the insurance industry to respond as quickly as possible to requests for compensation “despite inevitable delays in processing their files”.
The precipitation caused by Debby reached 200 mm in 24 hours in some places. The regions of Montreal, the Laurentians, Lanaudière and Mauricie were affected, in short a large part of southern Quebec.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The Insurance Bureau of Canada estimated that extreme weather in 2023 will cause more than $3.1 billion in insured losses in Canada.
The organization recalled that the precipitation of August 9 comes on top of three other significant weather events that occurred this summer in Canada in a few weeks: forest fires in Jasper, torrential rains in Toronto and hail in Calgary.
This is putting enormous pressure on the insurance industry and claims services, which are scrambling to respond diligently to this unprecedented flood of requests.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada in a press release
The BAC recommends that disaster victims make a list of damaged property and attach photos, gather receipts for damaged property and keep invoices for expenses incurred due to the disaster – such as living expenses and emergency work.
Premier François Legault on Friday invited disaster victims to turn first and foremost to their private insurer in order to claim the maximum provided for in their insurance contract. Depending on the case, Quebec could pay the difference in the bill for the work that was not covered by a reimbursement from insurers.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada estimated that extreme weather in 2023 will cause more than $3.1 billion in insured losses in Canada.