Fiona insurance payouts: What to know before you make a claim

Storm Fiona has left a trail of damaged homes, cars and properties in its wake. Here's what to know about making insurance claims and when to expect payouts.

Post-tropical storm Fiona left a trail of devastation on its path through Atlantic Canada this past weekend, leaving homeowners picking up the pieces from damaged roofs, felled trees and flooded homes.

As first responders, Canadian military members and volunteers continue to clear roads and care for the displaced, phones are starting to ring at insurers in the east.

“Insurers are typically the second responders when it comes to large-scale events like this,” says Amanda Dean, vice-president Atlantic for the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC).

It will be weeks before the full extent and cost of Fiona’s damage is known, Dean says from her home in Halifax, which, while spared much of the storm’s damage, remains without power Monday like hundreds of thousands of homes in the east.

But while even a ballpark figure remains days away, she says there will be hefty insurance payouts due to the “widespread” impact of the storm — damage was felt in in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and eastern parts of Quebec.

“I think we can expect some impressive numbers coming out of this event,” she tells Global News.

Don’t bother scanning your insurance policies for “hurricane” or “tropical storm” coverage — these aren’t categories that really exist in the Canadian insurance landscape, says Kelsey Hawke, an expert with rates.ca.

Typical home insurance policies will include coverage for wind damage, Hawke says, which would include debris such as fallen trees and siding torn from a house.