Insurance Industry Tries to Address Overland Flooding

October 5th, 2015  |  Home

Severe Canadian weather has insurance consumers asking questions about their coverage and the industry has decided to respond.

After the 2013 Calgary storms, many people discovered their policies didn’t cover them for flooding after the Bow and Elbow Rivers flowed over their banks and left several communities under water.

The insurance industry has since tried to address the problem of coverage but they can’t do it by themselves, says IBC president CEO Don Forgeron.

“Some insurers began offering their own flood insurance products this year and I think this speaks to your industry's leadership and its capacity to innovate and venture into this new area,” Forgeron stated, addressing an audience at the National Insurance Conference of Canada (NICC) in Montreal.

Forgeron was referencing the recent announcements by the Co-operators Group and Aviva Canada to make overland flooding products available to consumers.

While praising these bold moves into new territory, Forgeron cautioned that it’s not enough.

“These new products in the market will likely not deal with all of the high-risk properties and for that we believe we need government involvement,” he reported.

However, Forgeron warned that government involvement “should be focussed on pre-planning instead of after the fact financial support.”

Forgeron made these remarks as part of a panel discussion titled Flood Insurance Programs - Trials, Tribulations and Success Stories.

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