Cape Breton man fears losing home to weather-related insurance cancellation

Cape Breton homeowner at risk of losing his insurance A homeowner in Cape Breton says he's at risk of losing his house insurance after being impacted by a series of storms.

It's been one thing after another for Fabian England since he moved into his home in Reserve Mines, N.S., more than six years ago.

"We bought this home in 2016,” England said. “It wasn't long after that we had that Thanksgiving flood."

England's home suffered water damage from that storm, and again from another heavy rain event about a year-and-a-half later.

He put an extra sump pump in his basement, and hasn't had water damage since. But then came the wind damage.

Fiona blew through, then another wind storm shortly after. Now, he's left with damage to his siding and roof.

"I need a new roof and I need siding because of the hurricane, and they're charging me two deductibles,” England said.

England said he's bought insurance for more than 40 years and never submitted a claim until the Thanksgiving storm six years ago.

"Like I said, I had a clean record forever until I moved until this house -- and it's all weather-related."

Now, he says he's been told his insurance will be canceled because he's too high of a risk.

The past few days, England has been contacting insurance companies across the country trying to find one that will take him on.

He's worried that if he can't find home insurance, he's going to have to sell his house.

"It's just eating me up. I'm more scared than anything,” he said.

England said part of the reason he's having trouble getting insured is because his Fiona repairs aren't fixed.

He said he has a contractor lined up to do the work, but it has to wait until the weather warms up.

He also shared his story in case any others still dealing with Fiona damage are in a similar situation.

"It's not just about me,” he said. “I worry about the older people or the foreign people who don't understand this stuff, and they're in the same position or worse positions."

England said he's willing to pay within reason to get coverage again.

"I don't know what to say. I'm just in a pickle,” he said. “I'm devastated. I'm embarrassed that it happened, and the more you talk to insurance companies, the more you get down. I'm losing faith in it."

England added he's also contacted a couple of elected officials in his area about his situation, so far without success.