Automotive News Canada - October 2024 - 9

* OCTOBER 2024
9
Seeking shelter from the storm
When hail strikes, tents
covering vehicles on
lots can offer better
coverage than insurance
By DOUG FIRBY
CALGARY CORRESPONDENT
DEALERS HAVE TAKEN MATTERS
into their own hands, usually at great
expense, to mitigate the damage caused
by persistent extreme weather . And those
measures appear
to be working.
A 2021 hailstorm
in southern
Alberta
caused $1.2 billion
in insured
BEST PRACTICES
SPOTLIGHT
damage on all property, including new
vehicles. It was the fourth-costliest natural
disaster in Canada's history, according
to the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC).
The industry association does not break
out damage to vehicles, said Andrew
Bartucci, director of external communications.
Lexus
of Calgary was prepared, but it
wasn't always.
" We got hit pretty hard in around 2019, "
said Steve Normore, general manager of
the family-owned dealership in southeast
Calgary. He estimated that about 250 new
vehicles were damaged and that the dealership
shelled out $330,000 in insurance
deductibles.
Lexus of Calgary spent about $600,000
on hail tents to protect up to 150 vehicles
about a year before the 2021 storm.
Normore said the investment has paid off.
" It certainly reduces our risk and exposure
by 90 per cent, " he said.
HAILSTORM ALLEY
Southern Alberta dealerships are particularly
at risk for such disasters, which
occur almost yearly. The infamous
Hailstorm Alley roughly follows a
240-kilometre line
from High River
north through
Calgary, Red Deer
and Lacombe, and
90 kilometres west
to Rocky Mountain
House.
McManes:
Installing hail
protection at
his 10 Calgary
stores means he
no longer buys
hail insurance.
FILE PHOTO
Notes:
Creative & Production Services, 100 Yonge St., 5th
File: 3267755 Scotia Scene Automotive PRINT_E Jan11
Colours: CMYK
Canadian history, IBC said. The costliest
was the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire.
Jim McManes, CEO of the 17-dealerTrim:
10.875 " x 7.375 "
Bleed: 0.125
Safety: N/A
The IBC told CTV
News in September
that five of the 10
costliest disasters in
Canada since 2016
occurred in Alberta.
An Aug. 5, 2024, hailstorm,
which caused
an estimated $2.8 billion
in total claims,
was the second-costliest
natural disaster in
A 2019 storm cost Lexus of Calgary
$330,000 in insurance deductibles to
cover damage to 250 new vehicles. That
prompted GM Steve Normore to pay
about $600,000 to erect hail tents, which
cover up to 150 vehicles.
PHOTO: DOUG FIRBY
Floor, Toronto ON, M5C 2W1
ship McManes Automotive Group, said
hail tents or nets have been erected at his
10 stores in the Calgary area. As a result,
costly hail insurance is no longer needed,
he said.
The decision to install the tents came
after the 2021 storm. At Country Hills
Mercedes-Benz in Calgary's north end, 43
vehicles were damaged, totaling $530,000,
McManes said, but the insurance plan had
a $500,000 deductible, leaving just $30,000
Workfront #: 3267755
Deadline: Dec, 2023
In Market: Dec, 2023
Designer: TR Prod: CL
SEE LESSONS PAGE 12
in claimable damage.
Many of the vehicles were repaired and,
by law, sold as having been hail-damaged,
McManes said.
STAYING A STEP AHEAD OF DISASTER
Wolfe Langley Mazda in Surrey, B.C.,
35 kilometres east of Vancouver, ran into
AUTO DEALERS, GET READY TO
REV UP YOUR REWARDS.
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which can be redeemed for travel, movies, groceries and more.
Contact your local sales rep to learn more.
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https://www.scotiabank.com/ca/en/commercial-banking/industries/automotive/scotiadealerrewards.html?cid=S1eWCCOVE1254-003

Automotive News Canada - October 2024

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