As temperatures dropped earlier this month, many British Columbia homeowners faced frozen and burst pipes.
Square One Insurance says it has seen a 191 percent increase in insurance claims for frozen pipes in the past two weeks, compared to this time last year.
“Because it’s relatively unusual to get these cold temperatures in the Lower Mainland, we’re less prepared for it than other parts of Canada,” said Jason Vander Zalm, co-founder and senior vice president of Square One Insurance.
Some insurance providers have chosen to make comprehensive water damage coverage optional, he said, adding that he highly recommends making sure you’re covered.
“Water damage is the number one cause of loss these days, even beating fire, so it’s definitely a very valuable coverage,” Vander Zalm said.
But before making a call to your insurance company, Sean Sinclair says there are conditions homeowners should be aware of.
“If you go on vacation somewhere and spend more than 4 days and there’s no one to come and check on your house, you may not have any coverage,” said Sinclair, head of general insurance and risk management. program at BCIT.
To avoid lack of coverage while they’re away, homeowners should have someone check on their homes daily, make sure their water lines are drained and turned off, or use alarms to monitor, he said.
“This is the time of year when people want to get away from this. They go to Arizona or Hawaii, and a lot of people — most people — don’t read their policy until they take a loss.
Restoration companies in Metro Vancouver have also received calls for help in the wake of the cold snap.
“It’s been crazy, it’s been non-stop, 24/7, probably for the last four or five days,” said Mani Pal, director of On Command Cleaning and Restoration Limited.
“We work alongside and with a lot of the major restoration companies in the Lower Mainland, and we talk about thousands and thousands of claims every 24-hour period.”
He said homeowners often ignore the situation until it becomes catastrophic.
“A lot of people look at their ceilings and say, ‘Oh, look at that, I’ve never seen that before,’ and then forget about it. Check it out,” Ball said.
To prevent burst pipes, Square One Insurance suggests the following:
- Insulating exposed pipes
- Seal cracks that allow cold air into the home
- Keep your home temperature at least 16°C
- Disconnect hoses and close outside faucets
This is good advice for all types of homeowners, Pal said.
“Strata complexes, high-rises, townhomes, trailer parks, you name it, it happens,” he said.