Water damage

When his phone rang early October 19th David Fiteni knew he would need his raincoat and tools. As Lynn Valley was hit with record-breaking rain, the insurance broker was stepping up to help friends and clients fend off their losses.

Local expertise

There were a lot of lessons learned in Lynn Valley from the Kilmer Creek flood of November 2014. The district took the initiative to daylight and improve drainages. Residents armed themselves with supplies and experience and some insurance companies declared the neighbourhood a no-go zone withholding coverage.  Central Agencies David Fiteni was in the heart of the water 10 years later, with his own home just blocks from this year’s Fromme flooding. “I live literally across the street here but that’s the advantage of going with a local insurance broker, not a call centre,” he said a few days later. “Whether it’s friends or clients or clients who became friends, I am going to answer the phone. It’s most likely their first flood but I know what they need to do in the moment and what resources may be available to help them.”While he admits this level of service isn’t every local broker, the knowledge and understanding of choosing local offers important insight and understanding of the community being insured. Fiteni has even found himself on Vancouver Island on the ground helping clients through the post-incident insurance work. “Call me. I will tell you what to do,” he said. As new homeowners move to Lynn Valley or residents renewing their policies, they continue to run into lingering issues from the 2014 floods. Most likely, just a handful of companies dealt with a substantial number of claims in the neighbourhood, explained Fiteni. This negatively impacts their ability to offer full coverage. "There are postal codes in Lynn Valley that some companies won’t provide flood coverage for," he said. "That’s the downside of dealing with companies that are too big to know the ins and outs of local areas. They look at a map and claims data. There are other companies that were not severely impacted and still provide coverage. We offer Lynn Valley a variety of options to protect homes today and to ensure broad coverage for the future.”

New coverage

courtesy of Jordan BackBack in 2014 many homes had no flood coverage at all. It previously wasn’t offered. The catastrophic floods in Calgary in 2013 began the federal government's review of insurance companies and their policies. Simplifying the situation, it was noted that families with basements were typically covered by insurance – claims were successful as sewer backup – while those built on slab were not, explained Fiteni. In the years following insurance companies began to roll out overland flood coverage. In 2024 the federal government is in talks with insurance providers for a federal flood insurance program that would offer coverage to homes not able to get flood coverage from traditional providers, like parts of the Fraser Valley. As new insurance products have hit the market not all coverage is equal.“It can be really hard to compare policies,” said Rachel Robertson, an insurance broker at Central Agencies Lynn Valley office. “More companies are offering standard water policies but there are some parts you need to have specifically endorsed. They all do it a bit differently, whether they're doing through backup and overland and groundwater kind of all in one package, or if they're doing them all separately. But I would say that we are pretty fortunate, and 95% of the time, we have at least one company that's able to offer full water coverage.”

The lingo 

Some terms to become familiar with when considering your home policy.

• Sewer back-up: Covers damage caused by a sewer backing up or overflowing 

• Groundwater seepage: Covers damage caused by groundwater seeping in through basement windows, doors, or floors 

• (Overland)Flood: Covers damage caused by water entering the property from a body of water overflowing 

• Above-ground water: Covers damage caused by water seepage through the roof or walls 

• Water service and sewer line breakage: Covers certain repair costs if the water service or sewer line breaks or malfunctions 

• Seepage: When water slowly flows or passes through fine pores or an opening 

• Water escape: When water flows out of the pipes in an unintended way, such as a burst pipe

What to expect

With the differences in wordings and policies, a broker can be essential to getting the coverage you need. “We ask a lot of questions to understand our clients,” said Fiteni. “We want to know if you have bikes that need coverage, if your property is vulnerable to water, to understand your financial position and how we can help balance your priorities and risks.”“We quote based on your house needs and find the right product,” adds Robertson. “We don’t just offer one and hope it kind of works.”It’s a conversation that should be ongoing. Robertson explains Central Agencies reviews customer policies at renewal time to see if there are new exclusions. “I don’t want to tell someone that they no longer have coverage at renewal because their provider has changed policies. I will have alternative solutions ready to go. Homeowners must read their policies when they are renewed if it's an automatic payment. Coverage and policies are changing and you might not have the coverage today that you think you bought a few years ago. You were informed with updated wordings but you might not have read them.”Like mortgage brokers, insurance brokers are worth a conversation at renewal time. Their consultations are complimentary with their goal to find you the best coverage for your needs. “The DNV (District of North Vancouver) has done a lot – we had more than double the rain of 2014 and fewer impacts. They responded to Fromme and it was like turning off a tap,” said Fiteni. “But we are lucky it was during the day and people were ready to help. Water is by far the biggest insurance issue in Lynn Valley and residents need to be prepared.”David Fiteni and Rachel Roberston and their expertise can be found at Central Agencies Lynn Valley, 3171 Mountain Highway or at  778-729-0404.

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