Thousands left to navigate insurance after Calgary’s vicious hail storm

Broken windows, damage to roofs, siding, cars and windshields. Now what?

Thousands of Calgarians are dealing with the aftermath of a severe thunderstorm that rolled through Monday night, bringing baseball-sized hail that left its mark on houses and vehicles in the north part of the city.

The storm may have reopened wounds left from the monster storm of 2020 that resulted in $1.3 billion worth of damages.

Anne Marie Thomas is with the Insurance Bureau of Canada and says this week’s storm has signs of being historic, but it could take several weeks before the true extent of damage is known.

“There were approximately 70,000 claims as a result of that hail storm in June 2020,” she says. “It won’t be known for about 30 to 45 days, it can take awhile to determine the amount of insured damage when there are so many claims that come in.”

Robyn Robert lives in northeast Calgary and has a cracked windshield to show for Monday night’s monster weather event. She says she is counting herself lucky in comparison to what some others are dealing with in the wake of the storm, but tells CityNews she isn’t having luck getting through to an insurance representative.

With a massive influx of calls, Thomas says it could actually take days for an adjuster to get back to someone.

WATCH: Navigating insurance claims after Calgary’s hail storm

In the meantime, she says it’s important to note that people will only be covered for hail damage to their cars if they purchased ‘All Perils’ or ‘Comprehensive’ coverage.

“If you chose not to buy those coverages, you would not have damage to your vehicle covered as a result of hail,” says Thomas. “If your car is drivable, maybe take it into a body shop and get an estimate on what it would cost to fix it.”

As far as homes go, Thomas says most home insurance policies will cover hail damage to windows and siding, but it gets tricky when it comes to roof damage.

“If your shingles were 30 years old and ready to fly off anyway…your insurance company may not pay for a whole new roof,” she says. “That could have been part maintenance.”

Thomas recommends holding onto any receipts for any lumber and materials purchased for instant repairs. Also, keeping photo documentation of all damages could allow people to reimbursed down the road.

“You will reimbursed for expenses you have incurred to mitigate damage to your home,” Thomas says.