Manitoba unveils relief program for flood victims

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Manitoba unveils relief program for flood victims

The province allocates $175 million to battle floods.

Suzanne Sharma on May 25, 2011

Manitoba flood victims may be provided some relief as the province unveils Part One of Flood 2011 Building and Recovery Action Plan, a three-part strategy to battle flooding. It includes $175 million that will be used to aid those affected by the most severe spring floods the province has ever experienced.

“The geographical scope of this flood is beyond anything we’ve seen before,” Premier Greg Selinger said in a statement. “Families, businesses and producers through large parts of our province are pulling together to cope with the water.”

The program includes compensation for those living south of Hoop and Holler Bend, as well as those affected by the province’s intentional breach a dike along the Assiniboine River.

Craig Shanks, managing professional at Crawford and Company in Brandon, Manitoba said it’s great the province is stepping in, although he remains wary because in his experience “provinces never give 100%” and he is “unsure how far $175 million will go.”

“One of the good things with this program is that people who’ve had their lands flooded by the forced breach the province made will be 100% compensated,” he told Canadian Insurance Top Broker May 24. “Time will tell.”

Business as usual

The April flooding is far from over, and with 1,300 people still out of their homes relief efforts are ongoing.

However, being prepared has helped the insurance industry aid victims and deal with a potential influx of claims. For some adjusters, brokers and insurers in the area, it has been business as usual.

“It’s been a non-event for us,” said Shanks. “Everybody in our business did a great job getting the word out initially that overland flooding isn’t covered.”

He added once water levels start to drop in the Brandon area, there may be more claims and the company is prepared to bring in a catastrophe team if necessary.

“We’ve had a few calls but most people have been fairly well informed that unless they’ve got a sewer back up, they’re not getting too much coverage,” he said.

On the personal auto side there will be little impact on rates, Brian Smiley, media relations officer at Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) told Canadian Insurance Top Broker May 25.

“We know there have been dozens of vehicles that have been drowned or flooded by waters,” he said. “If a policy is active the customer will be covered.”

Smiley added MPI was also prepared in advance and warned customers.

“We sent out an advisory early on in this situation to encourage owners to move vehicles to safer ground.”

To read more about the provincial relief program, click here.