Western Canada: Federal government planning national overland flood insurance

Good morning. It’s James Keller in Calgary.

When devastating floods like the kind that hit British Columbia wash away or significantly destroy homes, people who live in them are often faced with the reality that those damages are not covered by insurance.

Most insurance policies don’t cover overland flooding, prompting governments to step in with disaster assistance or, in some cases, leaving owners struggling to come up with the money to replace or repair their homes themselves.

There have been plans in the works to change that since the flooding in Calgary and High River in 2013, which was among the costliest natural disasters in Canadian history. But the progress has been slow, with such coverage either prohibitively expensive or, more likely, simply impossible to find.

Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair says his government will finally make such coverage a reality, promising that a public-private system to provide coverage will be in place by the end of next year.

The program is expected to be available to roughly 800,000 uninsured homes that are deemed at high risk of flooding. It is also sure to revive the debate about whether people who live in flood-prone areas should be encouraged to rebuild at all as climate change is expected to increase the frequency of such extreme weather.

Mr. Blair told The Globe and Mail’s Justine Hunter that he expects a system to be in place within the next 18 months. At the same time, the federal government will ensure local governments have access to accurate flood mapping to determine whether it makes more sense to relocate instead of rebuild.

The minister met with his Task Force on Flood Insurance and Relocation last week, and has been promised an interim report before summer.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada says it is eager to ensure coverage is available but adds that will require government funding to make rates affordable.

The insurance industry expects to pay out $515-million in claims related to B.C.’s recent floods and mudslides, which were triggered by extreme rainfall, though at least half of the homes that were damaged were not eligible for insurance.

Experts have long urged governments to prevent building in flood plains or, at the very least, ensure they don’t rebuild in the same dangerous locations after a disaster.

But there are endless examples of local governments ignoring those calls and increasing, not limiting, expansion into areas with high flood risks. The result are costly disasters as well as the ever-increasing need for expensive infrastructure to protect communities from flooding, as is happening in places such as Calgary and Fort McMurray, Alta.

Communities have had mixed success with relocation after disasters. Quebec faced a backlash in 2019 when it offered to buy out flood-damaged homes, leaving homeowners facing major financial losses. Fort McMurray faced a similar challenge in 2020, encouraging homeowners to relocate rather than face new risks. And, the tepid response to a voluntary buyout plan after the 2013 floods forced local authorities to threaten tougher measures.

This is the weekly Western Canada newsletter written by B.C. Editor Wendy Cox and Alberta Bureau Chief James Keller. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was forwarded to you from someone else, you can sign up for it and all Globe newsletters here.