Ill wind blows in damage claims

BC’s severe weather Thursday is just a taste of what’s likely to come, say brokers

Risk Management News

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BC brokers are already bracing for a rush of client phone calls following the latest storm being chalked up to climate change.

This latest fall storm hit the province’s coast Thursday with 110 km/h winds, cancelling ferry sailings and knocked out power to thousands on Vancouver Island.

Gusts came early, with Trial Island outside Victoria, taking the brunt force of those winds.

Nearby, the storm has triggered rock slides, washouts and numerous road closures.

Brokers are already reporting a number of frantic phone calls from customers at both ends of their P&C book.

But that claim action may be only the tip of the windstorm as the province, and indeed, the rest of the country prepares for more sudden and severe weather during this winter’s El Nino but also well after it subsides.

Climate change is catching the blame for that weather, with brokers already warning clients about the very real probability of “claim creep” as prices rise gradually to meet any spike in incidents resulting in damage.

That likelihood speaks to wholesale industry support for federal action.

Last week, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna, , announced Canada's $50m contribution to the G7 Initiative on Climate Risk Insurance, suggesting the funds are earmarked for poor and vulnerable countries looking to cover the economic impact of natural hazards and extreme weather events.

Provincial funds in this country are themselves expected to see an uptick in claims, with brokers increasingly having to provide customers with information on how to access those programs.

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