The Ontario Broker - June 2019 - 19

damage caused by water entering the dwelling. This
isn't always the case. Even with both sewer backup
and overland water coverage, there are still gaps in
coverage for water damage losses.

a claims department for several days as all staff set
aside their daily work and handled phone call after
phone call, taking down loss details and submitting
them to insurance companies.

TM: I work almost solely with Commercial clients so
from that perspective, proper Business Interruption
with an adequate Indemnity limit. Most policies I
see only have a 12-month indemnity period when it
should be at least 18-24 months in some cases. It's
important to have more than 12 months Indemnity
if you own and operate your own building. If it were
to burn down, it often takes longer than a year to
clear debris, get new permits and site plans, and to
completely rebuild. A close second would be Ordinary
Payroll, to pay employees in the event of a loss.

TM: One of my coworkers had a client that owned
a restaurant. It was flooded and as a result, badly
damaged. Since the client owned the building, there
was a significant Business Interruption claim. It
only had a 12-month indemnity period and even
though the building wasn't a total loss, it was very
challenging getting the building back in shape and
paying associated lost profits with the existing
limits. The ordinary payroll for employees was also
exhausted fairly quickly. It was a stressful situation
for all involved.

DESCRIBE THE LARGEST NATURAL
DISASTER CLAIM YOU OR A
COWORKER'S WORKED ON.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE SEASON
AND WHY?

CB: Being in Northern Ontario, our staff has
had to work through binding suspensions due to
forest fires in 2018 and now flooding in 2019. It's
a challenge, but I'm always blown away by how our
staff continues to find solutions for our clients.
EB: The largest natural disaster I've worked on was
the September 1991 hailstorm in Calgary. I was an
adjuster for an insurance company and hailstones the
size of golf balls damaged cars, homes and businesses.
My personal recollection was there were a lot of claims,
but few were as urgent and devastating as we've seen
with water and wind losses more recently.
LM: A severe summer windstorm producing several
downdrafts travelled through
the Muskoka region early in
my career as a broker. The
downdrafts hit a rural cottage
area and several residential
streets near downtown
Bracebridge. Every tree in
its path was brought down,
resulting in trees on houses and
power lines and across roads.
Our office transformed into

WWW.IBAO.ORG

CB: In Northern Ontario, winters are a joy to some
and a dread to others, but everyone here loves
summer. People are just more relaxed and Friday
afternoon call volume often goes down. Summers
are cherished because it's an unspoken truth that
winter is always around the corner!
EB: My favourite season is fall. I enjoy the beautiful
fall colours, sunny fall days and cooler evenings.
LM: Definitely summer...patios, golf, BBQs, flip
flops-what's not to love!
TM: I think it'd have to be fall. I like the changing of
the leaves and the start of slightly cooler weather.
It's a scenic time of year in our area.

19

JUNE 2019
https://twitter.com/wminsurance/status/1122848271125438465?s=20 https://twitter.com/pvvinsurance/status/1133363832821354496?s=20 http://WWW.IBAO.ORG
The Ontario Broker - June 2019

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