People in Southern Alberta are still dealing with the aftermath of severe weather this past summer.
A hailstorm in July and two in August piled up $330 million worth of insured damage in the region, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada.
“There are holes as you can see, I look like a victim of a drive-by shooting,” said Irina Laird, owner of Tiffany House Stained Glass.
Laird is joking, but the hail damage she has to get fixed at her Hillhurst shop is no laughing matter.
“This particular area.. we haven’t been hit in a long time. You know your plants been killed once in a while, but to get that damage to the building – that was really unusual.”
At this downtown auto dealership, sheets of ice came barreling down the Bow River valley.
Almost every vehicle on the lot has some dings.
But instead of paying a giant deductible, the dealership is holding a hail sale.
The best deals are on smaller, more affordable models.
“Cruz’s and things like that could be upwards of 4 to 6 thousand dollars less than what you would pay somewhere else for the same vehicle,” said Ashley Wolfe, GM of GSL Chev City.
Hail repair companies have been swamped. So much so that customers are being told to be patient.
“Could be about a month wait. We’re trying to get the appraisals done as quickly as possible so people don’t have to wait,” said Jonas Dorosz, owner of PDR Hail Team.
Back at the stained glass shop, Laird has her claim approved.
But that was the easy part.
“You have to find a contractor, and of course everybody’s busy now because everybody has this problem,” lamented Laird.
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