As severe flash flooding and severe water damage become a rising risk in Canada, coverage and broker talking points are evolving to address the intensity and frequency of extreme weather. Spring thaw is creating opportunities for drainage backups and property damage due to yo-yoing temperatures and unpredictable precipitation. According to Jim Mandeville, senior vice president, large loss at First Onsite Property Restoration, “insurance policies are evolving with changing climate concerns, which is something brokers should emphasize to clients who may be vulnerable.” Mandeville has years of experience working in the disaster relief sector, being on the front lines of restoration and mitigation projects across North America including Hurricane Sandy, the Slave Lake wildfires of 2011 and the Fort McMurray flooding of 2013, to name a few.
How one insurance company went where others didn't, and provided storm surge coverage
As many Atlantic Canadians found to their dismay following devastation from post-tropical storm Fiona, most insurance companies don't provide coverage for storm surge, but Cooperators Insurance does. The company wanted to find a solution after its experience of floods in Calgary and Toronto in 2013, executive vice-president Lisa Guglietti told Island Morning host Laura Chapin, because it found existing water damage coverage was both difficult for clients to understand and for adjusters to assess.
First Onsite partners with Alert Labs to help clients proactively minimize water
First Onsite Property Restoration (First Onsite), one of Canada’s largest disaster recovery and restoration providers, announced today that it has entered into a partnership with Alert Labs, a provider of solutions for real-time water usage monitoring, flood detection, and analytics. The partnership will help First Onsite’s commercial clients proactively minimize water damage, reducing emergency repairs and disruptions to building services while improving water conservation efforts.