Regulator lifts adjuster licensing restrictions in wake of Ontario flood response
Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) has implemented temporary measures to allow claims adjusters to process insurance claims from Ontario’s flash flooding more quickly.
FSRA is temporarily allowing licensed adjusting firms to use claims adjusters licensed outside of Ontario. FSRA has also allowed Ontario insurers to use the services of employees of affiliated insurers.
The provincial regulator says the moves will help insurers process the high volume of claims from Tuesday’s rainfall and flood event.
These temporary measures will be in effect until Oct. 31, 2024. Insurers and adjusting firms must contact FSRA to confirm the requirements of the temporary measures before proceeding.
More than a months’ worth of rain fell in Toronto and parts of Southern Ontario Tuesday, in what insurance experts predict could cost well over a $1 billion in insured damages.
The storm flooded residential and commercial buildings, notably submerged Toronto’s Don Valley Parkway, and stalled public transit services for hours.
“The flooding from this week will undoubtedly be a large event for the Canadian industry,” says Laura Twidle, CEO of Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc.
The industry can expect flood-related damage, power-outage and related food spoilage or additional living expense claims to roll in, insurance experts tell Canadian Underwriter.
At its peak, power was out to more than 127,000 Toronto hydro customers.
“As a result of the heavy rains in the GTA, we have and continue to receive a high volume of claims as well as a number of bulk assignments from our clients,” Anita Paulic, ClaimsPro’s director of operations and catastrophe response says.
“It will take some time to get everything reported, particularly in instances where access and power are affected, but we anticipate the influx of claims will continue today and into next week.”
Adjusters have begun to see water damage claims, as food spoilage and outage-related claims tend to “stay with insurers,” says Cortney Young, Crawford and Company’s vice president of platforms solutions and contractor connection Canada.
Industry experts say this flood event resembled Toronto’s 2013 floods, which cost the industry over $1 billion in damages (adjusted for inflation in 2021) and contributed to the industry’s highest loss year at the time, and now the second-highest on record.
Photo Credit: Cars are partially submerged in flood waters in the Don Valley following heavy rain in Toronto on July 16, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Arlyn McAdorey
