There are lot of questions in Calgary about what happens after the lights are turned back on – namely – who will pay the bills?
The Mayor is urging people to talk to their insurance companies about compensation.
This situation is unique in many ways and for already many insurers are turning down power outage claims down.
“I did call my insurance company and they said they can’t start a claim until the cause of the fire is determined. So right now I’m just in limbo,” says downtown resident Shamus Neeson.
Tory Daniels was initially told his expenses would be covered while he was out of his home. 24 hours later – that changed.
“Next thing you know they say, ‘sorry sir you’re not covered. We’re not giving you anything towards your living accommodations. The best thing we can do is take care of the food in your fridge and good luck’,” claims Daniels.
All policies are different but the stumbling block for many is the lack of damage done to homes or buildings in the fire. There also wasn’t a mandatory evacuation order.
“In this case there was no civil authority that was ordering them to leave,” says insurance broker Ross Bucsis.
And now those residents are asking – ‘What am I paying for?’
“You’re paying for direct, tangible, physical damage arising out of an occurrence,” adds Bucsis.
Neeson is holding out hope and keeping his receipts.
“I’m looking forward to having a hot shower and maybe having lights so that I can see where I’m going. It would be nice to sleep in a bed and have heat.”
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