Homes in the Maritimes are at increasing risk from flooding due to climate change and homeowners need to consider its impact. That’s according to Professor Justin Thistlethwaite at the University of Waterloo who warns that the more frequent flooding incidences may cut the available protection against financial losses for homeowners. Most homeowner insurance policies do not cover flooding of this kind, although some insurers are now offering additional coverage. However Thistlethwaite says that the current safety net of federal help for those whose homes have been impacted by weather-related floods may be under threat: “As these events happen more frequently and form a pattern in people’s minds, it’s going to be more difficult to call them an act of god” he told The Star. The professor has studied Prince Edward Island’s climate change and highlights that the traditional model of insurers of looking back at the past 100 years is less reliable now due to the fast-changing climate.
Meanwhile the director of the Climate Research Lab at the University of PEI Simon Fenech says that home buyers in the region are starting to ask about flood risk from climate change; he’s even had people track him down at the university for a demonstration of how their potential new home could be impacted.
Meanwhile the director of the Climate Research Lab at the University of PEI Simon Fenech says that home buyers in the region are starting to ask about flood risk from climate change; he’s even had people track him down at the university for a demonstration of how their potential new home could be impacted.
