By CRM staff
Toronto, Ontario — September 5, 2018 — It has been a bad season for drivers in Canada’s prairie provinces — if not for their collision repairers. This year, summer storms have cause $200 million in property and vehicle damage claims, according to Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc.
In June, a storm with heavy rain and hail poured over Saskatchewan and Manitoba that caused $90 million in insured damage.
In July, Albertans and Saskachewaners faced severe hailstorms. In total, this caused more than $30 million in insured damage to homes, businesses and vehicles.
In August, Calgary was hit by another round of hailstorms, while a Tornado touched down in Manitoba, destroying buildings and vehicles. The total insured damage from this storm was $80 million.
Prairie repairers will likely experience higher volumes of work in future summers as well. In a statement, the Insurance Bureau of Canada suggested that the prairies were unprepared to deal with increasingly severe weather.
“We are witnessing more frequent, intense storms and it is urgent that provinces and communities take concrete steps – such as improving land use planning and changing building codes – to adapt to severe weather events,” wrote Celyeste Power, the IBC’s acting vice-president for Western Canada. “These costs are only part of the picture – Taxpayers also foot the bill for this damage through disaster financial assistance arrangements programs that pay for many uninsured losses.”
