Insurance concerns mount as N.S. residents cope with wildfire destruction
Gina Gallant has lived in Hammonds Plains, N.S., for 28 years.
However, her family home was destroyed in the wildfires.
“It’s completely gone,” said Gallant, who is now processing, what will surely be, the biggest insurance claim of her life.
“We’re not sure. I’m covered and we can rebuild, or we can just, we have to have the property cleaned up.”
Gallant didn’t have pictures of the damage to share and she does not know what exactly to expect from a claim.
“I don’t have the answers,” said Gallant.
“This is all brand new to me. I’ve never been through anything like this before.”
Carol MacDougall lives in the same Highland Park area.
MacDougall’s home wasn’t destroyed, but she’s braced for a bad news scenario when it comes to potential damage to her property.
“We’re thinking possibly because the fire did destroy a house next to us and certainly there’s a lot of destruction around us as well,” said MacDougall.
Amanda Dean from the Insurance Bureau Canada has one simple piece of advice.
“Get that claim started,” said Dean, who added displaced residents should track all additional living expenses incurred after the fire, like hotel costs, rent and clothing.
“That insurer will then assign an adjuster to the file, who will ask a few very basic questions,” said Dean.
“Some insurers are looking for more details when it comes to contents. For example, itemizing items in your living room. Was there a TV, a sofa, a love seat or a coffee table?”
As for a timeline to receive money for a new home?
“We are talking months in this situation,” said Dean.
However, supply chain and labour shortages can cause delays in new home construction.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
India's foreign minister reacts to murder charges, claims Canada welcomes criminals
India's Foreign Affairs Minister accused Canada of welcoming criminals from his country in response to the RCMP's recent arrests in a homicide that has roiled tensions between the two countries.
15-year-old boy stabbed in Ottawa on Thursday dies
A 15-year old boy who was critically injured after a stabbing in Nepean on Thursday has died of his injuries, Ottawa's English public school board said Sunday.
Dash cam catches moment suspected drunk driver hits parked car, sends it careening into North Shore flower shop
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.
'A tiny city:' Pro-Palestinian campus protesters organize for another week
Pro-Palestinian activists have set up tents at universities in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver and Montreal, following a wave of similar protests at campuses in the United States linked to the Israel-Hamas war.
Lawsuit against Meta asks if Facebook users have right to control their feeds using external tools
Do social media users have the right to control what they see — or don't see — on their feeds?
A Holocaust survivor will mark that history differently after the horrors of Oct. 7
This year's Holocaust Remembrance Day, which begins on Sunday evening in Israel, carries a heavier weight than usual for many Jews around the world.
Princess Anne lays wreath at Battle of Atlantic ceremony; honours late Queen
Princess Anne saluted Canadian veterans and current forces members and honoured her late mother during separate ceremonies Sunday in Victoria as she wrapped up a three-day British Columbia West Coast royal visit.
El Nino weakening doesn't mean cooler temperatures this summer, forecasters say
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.