Vanessa Big Eagle, a band councilor overseeing housing for the Pheasant Rump Nakota First Nation, experienced significant damage to her own residence due to severe weather conditions. Reflecting on the event, she mentioned that while their community is accustomed to extreme weather, the winds in May were unusually intense, causing damage to 23 out of 54 homes in the area. Her own house suffered the most damage, with a significant portion of the roof being blown off. As a result, insurance claims have been filed for the affected homes, managed by the First Nation, with many still in need of repairs, forcing one family to seek temporary accommodation in a hotel. Big Eagle expressed concerns about the recurring nature of such weather events and their financial implications, questioning whether budgeting for such occurrences should now be a standard practice.
Recent data from Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. indicates a surge in insured losses in Saskatchewan due to severe weather, potentially leading to increased insurance rates. Last year, the province experienced the highest dollar amount of insured losses from large weather events, totaling $450 million, since data collection began in 2008. The extreme winds in June resulted in the highest insured loss from a single event in the province, amounting to $240 million, followed by the northern wildfires last summer. Laura Twidle, president and CEO of the organization, highlighted the exceptional severity of the past two years in terms of insured losses.
Jason Thistlethwaite, a professor at the University of Waterloo, emphasized the potential impact on insurance premiums for property owners, even those who have not directly suffered damage. He explained that insurers may seek to recover losses through higher premiums and more restrictive coverage. Thistlethwaite advocated for a shift towards proactive measures to prevent property damage, as the current approach of post-disaster recovery is proving increasingly costly.
In response to the rise in weather-related property damage, repair companies in Saskatchewan are witnessing a growing demand for their services. Duane Lee and Allison Thompson, owners of Leeway Mechanical Inc., noted a significant increase in calls to repair homes affected by extreme weather conditions. The workload has notably intensified, with instances of water pumping from basements, roof repairs, and other weather-related damage repairs becoming more frequent. Chris Kaban, operational manager at Fire & Flood restoration company, reported a surge in calls, particularly due to basement flooding incidents this year, attributing the increased workload to severe weather patterns. The company has seen a substantial rise in employees, from 85 to 150, over the past two to three years, primarily due to the escalating demand caused by weather-related incidents.