The insurance industry has reacted to Budget 2024, part of which detailed the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to be launched in Canada.
Commenting on NFIP, Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) president and chief executive Celyeste Power (pictured) pointed to the crucial outcome intended by the program.
“[The] commitment by the federal government will help ensure that over 1.5 million homeowners at high risk of flooding will have access to affordable insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program when it’s launched next year,” she said.
“This is the single most important step Canada can take to better protect homeowners across the country from the financial risks of climate change that they are already facing.”
In her statement, Power pointed to the readiness of the country’s property and casualty insurance sector to help the government implement NFIP.
Power said: “Our industry is ready to support the government in the operationalization of this critical program. We have been working in concert with federal and provincial governments over the past seven years to design a program that suits Canada’s particular geography and housing market.
“Canada’s P&C insurance industry and the federal government have already begun working to rapidly scale and start delivering the program in 2025. However, the needed conversations between federal and provincial governments have yet to take place.”
The CEO, who highlighted that NFIP is aimed to be a proactive approach to managing the financial impact of flooding, believes that Canadians at the highest risk of flooding will not be adequately protected without the required federal and provincial funding arrangement.
Meanwhile, the Insurance Brokers Association of Canada (IBAC) expressed its keenness to collaborate.
“We look forward to working with the government and industry stakeholders to create a program that leverages the existing private-sector framework and the brokers' expertise to ensure a simple and straightforward process for the insurance consumer,” IBAC said.
Similarly, Power added: “We look forward to continuing to work in partnership with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Public Safety Canada, and Finance Canada to deliver on our joint vision that, as of 2025, households across the country will have access to flood insurance seamlessly through their existing home insurance policy, offered by the same brokers or agents homeowners rely on today.
“IBC and its members are eager to continue partnering with the federal, provincial, and territorial governments to establish the country’s first low-cost national flood insurance program to protect high-risk households for the 2025 flood season and onwards.”
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