\u0022I just finally have kind of realized that we have no home left. And everything we\u0027ve worked our butts off for is gone.\u0022
Pam Velt, whose house collapsed into the Nicola River last November, said she and her husband, Paulus, believed they were fully insured.
Despite paying extra for overland flood insurance, which covers damage from heavy rainfall and overflowing rivers, Velt said they were shocked at the payout amount and are disputing it.Article content There are several options open to policyholders who disagree with the company’s decisions, including contacting the General Insurance OmbudService and the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, it said.
Rob de Pruis, national director of consumer and industry relations at the Insurance Bureau of Canada, said insurance costs related to extreme weather have ballooned in the past decade. The national average stands at $2.1 billion annually, up from $422 million between 1983 and 2008. The best estimate based on anecdotal evidence is that about 30 per cent of properties in high-impact areas had some level of overland flood coverage, de Pruis said, but there is no official count.The Insurance Bureau of Canada is working with the federal government to develop a flood map and flood plan to increase the eligibility for coverage for those currently uninsured, he said.
Months after the flood, Velt said she and her husband are still making mortgage payments on the house that is gone and they also pay for insurance to protect themselves from liability if someone injures themselves on the property.Article content
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