Alberta homeowners hoping to make claims for flood damage won’t get help for water that poured through doors or basement windows, the Insurance Bureau of Canada said Friday.<\/p>\n
“You’re not covered,” spokesman Steve Kee said. “There’s no overland flooding coverage in Canada.”<\/p>\n
Kee said if homeowners have damaged caused by water coming in doors and windows, they should file a claim even though it’s not covered because it could help them qualify for other assistance, if available.<\/p>\n
A sewage backup caused by flooding usually is covered, he said from Toronto.<\/p>\n
Property owners need to check their policies, he added.<\/p>\n
“People should probably be documenting and taking pictures when they get back into their homes.”<\/p>\n
Officials say as many as 100,000 people may have left their homes due to the flooding that has ravaged wide areas of southern Alberta after heavy rains.<\/p>\n
The insurance bureau also said vehicle owners who have their cars flooded will be covered for damage if they have comprehensive automobile insurance.<\/p>\n
Alberta Municipal Affairs Minister Doug Griffiths noted there will be uninsurable losses and warned that property owners aren’t intended to profit from the flooding.<\/p>\n
“The fact that a person didn’t bother to buy insurance doesn’t mean the government will pay for it,” Griffiths said at a news conference in Calgary.<\/p>\n
Property will be restored “back to what it was as best we can,” he said.<\/p>\n
Griffiths also said there is no insurance for homeowners hit by “overland” flooding.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Stephen said the federal government has offered “any and all possible assistance to the province of Alberta in response to the situation.”<\/p>\n
BMO Capital Markets economist Robert Kavcic said about a third of Alberta’s economy would be stalled due to the floods, including tourism, retail and construction.<\/p>\n
The immediate economic hit from the flooding would be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, Kavcic estimated.<\/p>\n
“You’re going to have a hit to retail sales in the very near term,” he said.<\/p>\n
“But when the water recedes and people go back out to the stores, you’re going to get some replacement spending there, too.”<\/p>\n
The floods also could have a small fiscal impact on the Alberta government because this year’s budget for emergency assistance spending is $200 million,” Kavcic said.<\/p>\n
“It’s clearly going to be a lot bigger than that.”<\/p>\n
Property owners can call 1-800-377-6378 to reach the Insurance Bureau of Canada with their questions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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