Following the dangerous explosion that occurred in east Ottawa, the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) has given assurances that homeowners’ insurance policies should be able to pay for the resulting damages.
The explosion occurred sometime past 6 am, Monday, at a construction site for a new community in the suburb of Orléans. It was strong enough to destroy four homes, while damaging several others and causing injuries to 12 individuals. Windows were blown out, and bits of insulation were scattered into the streets.
A statement from Minto, the real estate company overlooking the construction site, said that based on a preliminary investigation, the explosion may have been caused by a natural gas leak. But Minto president Brent Strachan added that while there is an indication of a natural gas explosion, it is too early to definitively tell the cause of the blast.
While the blast devastated nearby properties, it was also powerful enough to have caused "seismic signals" as far as 10 km away, Natural Resources Canada said. Those signals were so strong, that even homes nowhere near the blast had their windows and parts of their roofing blown.
IBC director of consumer and industry relations Anne Marie Thomas gave assurances that most homeowners’ insurance policies should cover damages caused by the explosion’s strong waves.
"If you have purchased an insurance policy, most of the time damage caused by explosion is covered," Thomas told CTV News.
"Things like flood or sewer back-up, they are excluded in the actual policy, which is why you have to buy the extra coverage, but damage caused by explosion is, in most cases, covered."
The director additionally advised homeowners to document any damage they can find, keep receipts for any home repairs made, and to contact their insurance company if they have any more insurance-related inquiries.
Insurance producers and professionals know too well the devastation caused by explosions. The last time a gas explosion occurred in London, ON’s Old East Village in 2019, the London Insurance Brokers Association (LIBA) put together a donation for residents affected by the blast.
