Calgarians prepare for storm season hoping to avoid repeat of costly 2020 hail
Posted Jun 21, 2022 5:20 pm.
Last Updated Jun 21, 2022 7:29 pm.
It’s been two years since the most expensive hailstorm Canada has ever seen.
Pieces of ice, some the size of golf balls, rained from the sky on June 13, 2020, resulting in $1.2 billion worth of damage around parts of southern Alberta.
The disaster ripped through Calgary, Rocky View County, and Airdrie. It has been dubbed the fourth costliest natural disaster in the history of the country.
Alberta experiences more hail than any other province, and the Alberta Motor Association says there are some steps you can take to better protect yourself as storm season arrives.
“Inspect your roof once a year for loose shingles, damaged singles, reattach them. Along with hail comes wind. Wind can rip off shingles that are not securely affixed to the roof. Inspect floors, walls, and foundations, and seal the cracks as you go,” explained Graham Carstairs, insurance claims manager with the AMA.
“You want to probably look at your policy in June of every year to find out in the event of a claim, what would be the contribution be from your insurance company, what potentially could be deducted from your settlement from depreciation.”
He also recommends keeping an eye on the weather or getting a mobile app that alerts you to potential storms, so you can park your car outside of the affected area or bring it into your garage.
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In the last 10 years, Alberta has experienced more storm-related damage than every other Canadian province combined.
“If we have another hailstorm, it’s going to hurt my pocket. That’s my fear. [The last] hailstorm in 2020, although we had insurance, we had everything possible, I still lost about $10,000 from my own pocket to get my house to where it was the night before [the storm],” said Khalil Karbani, a northeast Calgary resident and spokesperson for the Hailstorm Action Committee.
“The other fear is that, especially with my kids, my daughter, every time we see dark clouds, she get very nervous and anxious. [She asks], ‘Is something else going to happen to our home?’ It was quite devastating for her to experience that.”
Karbani says it took around nine months for his home to be repaired.
He also points out insurance rates have skyrocketed for many people affected by the last storm. He tells CityNews his deductible has effectively doubled, while his rates also went up.
Over 70,000 homeowners reported damage caused by the hailstorm in 2020. Boats had to be launched to rescue stranded Albertans, while some areas, including Deerfoot Trail, faced flash floods.
Alberta has also experienced another of the two most expensive natural disasters in the country. The 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire resulted in $4 billion in damage while the southern Alberta floods of 2013 cost $2 billion.
