Insurance claims trickle in after last week’s downpour

Remember when Regina became one giant swimming pool on Friday? Well, it’s now something of the past, but some residents are still dealing with the aftermath.

Since the storm, SGI has seen a total of 78 claims submitted in relation to vehicles damaged by flooding or water. An additional 43 claims were made on vehicles that suffered wind damage.

“This is something that was a pretty significant event for a lot of people,” said Tyler McMurchy, SGI’s manager of media relations. “We saw a lot of flooded streets and underpasses, and it did affect a number of vehicles.

“We also saw quite a few claims related to property damage as well — more significantly, I would say, because there were a total of 451 claims so far reported by people whose homes experienced some damage as a result of the weather over the past weekend.”

Between groundwater and sewer backups, more than 260 claims were made.

“We do expect that there will be some more claims that will trickle in as people get a sense of their damages and whether or not they need to report it to an insurance company,” McMurchy said.

“Generally, these types of losses are considered comprehensive losses because there’s coverage under your plate insurance, and if you have an Auto Pak through SGI Canada or additional insurance through other insurance companies, there would be coverage for that loss.”

However, if it is clear there was a hazard ahead and the driver chose to proceed, there is a possibility the claim may be denied.

“In many cases these folks will receive insurance coverage,” McMurchy said. “Maybe they weren’t quite clear on the nature of the hazard, and that is something that happens, of course. Insurance is there for when people make mistakes.”

If a storm such as the one from last week occurs again, McMurchy encourages people to exercise extreme caution.

“If your vehicle is flooded by water, it can be very damaging to your vehicle,” McMurchy said. “Flooding can cause serious electrical and structural damage (to things) such as airbags, anti-lock braking and electronic stability control as well.

“The problem with a vehicle that is submerged in water is that some of the problems take time to develop as water is corrosive to the mechanical parts of the vehicle. The damage doesn’t necessarily stop once it’s been dried out. If you’re not sure how deep that pool of water is that you’re about to drive in, do your best to avoid it because you’ll be saving yourself a big headache if you do.”