EDMONTON – If you’ve seen a big jump in your insurance rate recently, you’re not alone.
“Alberta accounted for 62 per cent of the natural disaster losses in Canada (last year),” says Heather Mack with the Insurance Bureau of Canada. “And every company in the industry is trying to find ways to deal with this.”
One Edmonton customer tells Global News her home and car insurance bundle is set to increase by 40 per cent. She says the company told her it’s due to a significant increase in sewer back-up and hail claims in the last three years.
Mack claims that more than half of Alberta’s roughly 70 insurance companies are taking similar steps – either increasing premiums and deductibles, or limiting coverage due to the big boost in claims.
She adds that in 2012, about 98 cents of every dollar was repaid out in claims.
“The year before, for every $1 an insurance company took in, $1.30 was paid out in claims. So this is a very serious problem in Alberta we’ve seen for quite some time. And I’m not surprised to see companies responding the way they have to.”
In addition to sewer back-up, the Insurance Bureau of Canada says companies take a big hit from hail. For instance, Mack says a hailstorm in Calgary last year resulted in over $560 million in losses.
“Especially in Alberta, already prone to hail. Alberta is fast-growing, a lot of expensive property, expensive vehicles and it’s just, we’re at a loss as to what to do. I mean, when we talk about sewer backup we can say, ‘Install a back-up valve.’ On hail, short of building a bubble over downtown Edmonton, I don’t know what more we can do.”
Customers are being reminded to shop around and compare prices. And on top of looking at your rate and deductible, the Insurance Bureau of Canada recommends looking at what exactly you’re covered for, and asking questions if you’re not sure.
With files from Laurel Clark, Global News
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