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Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) has reported that the costs of weather-related property claims in Newfoundland and Labrador have been sharply increasing in recent years.
IBC government relations manager Tom O’Handley told The Telegram that property claims surged from $16.9 million in 1996 to $87.5 million in 2015. Last year, the claims increased even more to $104 million.
O’Handley clarified that the numbers are drawn from claims from all insurers, not just from IBC members.
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“Those numbers are adjusted to inflation. So it’s not just an inflation issue, there’s obviously more going on there and that more going on is climate change,” he noted.
It has been suggested that more residents of the territory have finished basements – basements equipped with furniture, wall coverings, and electronics – that could get flooded in, explaining the surge in claims.
The industry, however, is also recording higher rainfall levels that are overwhelming public infrastructure and private properties, said O’Handley.
“The current system, water and sewage system, can’t handle that amount of rain at one time and it’s caused floods,” he observed.
When asked for a costly event that contributed to the increase, O’Handley mentioned the recent flooding in Cape Breton and Newfoundland caused by a storm track, which led to $100 million in claims filed.
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