The spring of 2019 was a tough time for many communities in Ontario – flooding was so bad that it was declared a catastrophic event, leading to nearly $208 million dollars in insured damage across Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick (source: Insurance Bureau of Canada).

As a result of the extreme weather conditions and flooding experienced in the southeast corner of the province, the Ontario government has decided to launch a $1-million pilot project centered around protection from these types of extreme weather events.

Here are some details of this pilot project:

~ Qualifying municipalities will be given up to 15% over the estimated cost of rebuilding/repairing damaged infrastructure.

~ The idea behind allocating these additional funds is that the municipalities will be in a position to not just repair damage, but to actually improve the infrastructure to a higher standard, with the hope that better built roads, structures and bridges will better withstand any future extreme weather events. Many municipalities are not able to improve their infrastructure due to financial constraints. This pilot project aims to ease this burden.

~ The hope is that these additional funds will actually help to reduce costs and save time in the long-term. So rather than a community repairing the same road year after year for example, with this pilot project the road should be improved as well as fixed, so that it does not constantly need repairing.

~ Some examples of how infrastructure could be improved are building better bridge footings, or raising up roads that are susceptible to washing out.

~ The municipalities that are being included in the program are: Bracebridge, Huntsville, Pembroke, Renfrew County, Ottawa, Clarence-Rockland, Champlain, Alfred and Plantagenet.

In addition to the funds released by the pilot program, the government this year also has set up a disaster recovery program for the affected communities to help them with the costs of repairing or replacing any property essentials that are not covered in home insurance plans, as well as covering other emergency related expenses.

Source: Canadian Underwriter – New money aims to help municipalities boost flood resilience

If you have any questions related to insurance and flooding in Ontario, please contact our team today. You can also head over here to get a quote for home insurance online 24/7.

Image source: FreeDigitalPhotos.net | Stuart Miles