By now we’ve all read the stories of natural disasters the world over. Everything from the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, 2010 Haitian earthquake, and the 2011 Japan earthquake & tsunami, more recently the tornado that hit Moore Oklahoma & Australian brush fires. It seems that these disastrous events always happen in a far off land. But that doesn’t mean we are immune…
In Canada natural disasters average $1 billion annually, and that’s just the portion that’s covered by insurance. Guess who’s leading the country in catastrophic losses….yep you guessed it, Alberta.
Between 1983 & 2008 Alberta averaged $100 million a year in catastrophic losses. In the past four years however, Alberta has suffered and average of $673 million per year in insured losses from natural disasters.
The July 12, 2010 hailstorm pounded Calgary with hail stones almost two inches across. The storm actually broke the national record for insured hailstone damages with claims totaling $500 million.
Ironically the two most common disasters in Alberta are polar opposites, the most common being drought. There have been 35 droughts in Alberta between 1990 & 2005. The second most common being flooding. The Southern Alberta floods of 2005 resulted in $300 million in insurance payouts. That doesn’t even take into account the millions in losses that were not covered by insurance.
The moral of the story is that disasters can strike anywhere at any time, often with little or no warning at all. It’s up to you to make sure you are prepared for a disaster. Have an emergency kit ready, food, water and supplies on hand, etc. Oh and start by calling us, It’s our job to make sure your insurance is doing is job properly for you should the unthinkable happen.