Insurance claims jump thanks to wild winter weather
Number of car damage, frozen pipes, flooded basements claims up this year
Some insurance companies on P.E.I. say there has been a significant increase in home and auto claims this winter — and it's all directly related to the extreme weather conditions over the last six or seven weeks.
David Duffy, the claims manager with the Insurance Company of Prince Edward Island, said the topsy-turvy weather is causing damage.
“The auto claims are increasing, of course, with the extreme ice conditions on highways. We have seen probably a greater increase with property claims. [Because of] the extreme cold temperatures, we are having frozen pipes which eventually thaw in the warmer temperatures and of course create water damage claims,” said Duffy.
“We are also having some ice damming claims as well. And of course we had that little melt down where the temperatures increased to warmer temperatures and then of course we had the rain, so we had a few basements flooding on that. So we are getting it from all angles.”
Other companies CBC News contacted tell a similar story.
Duffy deals with claims in the three Maritime provinces. He notes there seem to be more claims from P.E.I. especially for damage caused by frozen pipes.
Meanwhile, officials with ServiceMaster Restore on P.E.I. say they've seen about a 25 per cent increase in calls — mostly for roof leaks or flooded basements. They expect even more calls this weekend with mild temperatures and rain in the forecast.