Overland flood insurance isn’t widely offered in Canada: SFU
Posted June 21, 2015 10:23 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Floods like what we saw last month in Cache Creek are going to become much more common according to SFU’s Adaptation to Climate Change Team, but homeowners don’t have many options for protecting themselves financially.
The team is calling on the Canadian government do more to make water over land insurance available.
Right now if a creek bursts its banks and floods your house, either you have to find the money or disaster relief funding is provided by government. Deborah Harford with SFU says that’s because only a couple companies offer insurance for this. “That is taxpayer money and so you know I think that they are starting to say we can’t afford this either so how are we going to pass some of this over to the private sector.”
Harford notes a couple companies have started offering coverage. “I’m going to guess that the way they have set up these overland flood insurance products they are guaranteed to make money for sure. They are not actually there as an altruistic organization. They must have figured out a way that they think it will make them money.
She says updated flood plain mapping and a national strategy are needed as floods start becoming more routine.
Companies have said that overland flood insurance isn’t profitable: too few people need it, so they don’t have enough to pay out claims and make money when big floods happen.
Canada is one of three developed countries where overland flood insurance isn’t widely offered. Climate change experts say this is becoming a problem.
Water over land flood insurance is hard to find in Canada climate experts say that has to change as flooding becomes more common
