About 70,000 Quebec insurance claims since Aug. 9 storm

Personal belongings pile up on a street in Beaconsfield, west of Montreal, on Tuesday, August 13, 2024, following a storm that dumped up to 200 millimetres of rain in parts of Quebec. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)

Approximately 70,000 home insurance claims have been received by Quebec insurers since the torrential rains on Aug. 9, the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) reported Tuesday, saying unusual delays should be expected in processing claims.

Taking stock as claims continued to come in, IBC said the number was "more than ten times the usual volume."

IBC was keen to inform claimants that the insurance industry is making every effort to respond as quickly as possible to claims "despite unavoidable delays in processing their files."

Rainfall caused by Tropical Storm Debby reached 200mm in 24 hours in places. The Montreal, Laurentians, Lanaudière and Mauricie regions were affected; in short, a large part of southern Quebec.

The organization pointed out that the Aug. 9 rainfall came on the heels of three other major weather events in Canada in the space of a few weeks this summer: forest fires in Jasper, torrential rains in Toronto and hail in Calgary.

"This is creating enormous pressure on the insurance industry and after-claims services, which are all scrambling to respond diligently to this unprecedented flood of claims," IBC said in a statement.

IBC recommends that disaster victims list damaged property and attach photos, collect receipts for damaged goods and keep invoices for expenses incurred due to the disaster -- such as living expenses and emergency work.

Premier François Legault urged disaster victims on Friday to turn first and foremost to their private insurers to claim the maximum provided for in their insurance contracts. Quebec may pay the difference in the cost of work not covered by insurance reimbursements, depending on the case.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada estimated that extreme weather conditions in 2023 caused more than $3.1 billion in insured damage in Canada.

  - This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Aug. 20, 2024.