A federal report questions whether homeowners who suffer flooding after declining to buy insurance should be disqualified from receiving disaster aid. It follows a proposal that Parliament mandate the purchase of flood insurance for property owners at risk, according to Blacklock's Reporter..“Some provinces and territories are moving toward refusing claims when someone is uninsured, but flood insurance is available,” said a Department of Public Safety audit. “It has been suggested the federal government could encourage all provinces and territories to adopt the strategy of refusing disaster financial assistance payments to households that do not avail themselves of flood insurance.”.Overland flood insurance has been sold in Canada since 2015. Residential losses account for about 15% of federal flood relief costs, said the Joint Audit And Evaluation Of The Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements Plan. The majority of flood costs are for damaged roads, bridges, and utilities..“If affordable flood insurance can be made available across Canada the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements Plan would not be needed for private property which would marginally reduce costs,” wrote auditors. They did not estimate the savings..The federal program dates back to 1970. “It was not designed as an insurance program that covers all disaster related costs,” said the audit..“Some stakeholders feel provinces and territories should have accountability for response, recovery and mitigation and that the plan ‘should be there for the incremental costs above and beyond what the provinces and territories could reasonably be expected to pay.’”.The audit follows a January 13 report by the Council of Canadian Academies that proposed Parliament create a national flood insurance program with mandated coverage for property owners at risk. “Canada is an outlier among many advanced economies offering some form of nationalized flood insurance,” said the Academies’ report Building A Resilient Canada: The Expert Panel On Disaster Resilience In A Changing Climate..The Academies’ report was commissioned by the Department of Emergency Preparedness. “We welcome and support the core findings,” Minister Bill Blair said at the time..Resilient Canada questioned payment of federal disaster relief to homeowners who live on flood plains but cannot or will not pay for private insurance. “Individuals who have reason to expect relief may choose to assume additional risk,” said the report..“In Canada mortgage lenders already require some form of home insurance,” said the report. “In the panel’s view adjusting these requirements to ensure adequate protections from climate-related hazards is increasingly warranted in the face of mounting disaster risks.”
