TORONTO — Navigating insurance can be overwhelming as southern Ontario residents pick up the pieces after a destructive storm passed through on Wednesday. Matt Hands, vice-president of insurance at Ratehub.ca, says to start by checking your insurance policy and figuring out whether your home or vehicle is covered for damages caused by the storm. Hands says most standard home insurance policies should cover wind- and hail-related damages, but they may not cover flooding. For flood-related damages, he says homeowners should make sure they have the added overland water coverage and potentially sewer backup coverage, depending on how water entered the home. Similarly, not all auto insurance is built the same, Hands says. For example, a comprehensive auto insurance policy would cover flood, hail or wind damage, while basic policies may not have that. Wednesday’s storm brought on strong winds and dumped more than 100 millimetres of rain in some parts of the region, prompting widespread power outages and flooding. It also hailed in some areas. Hands says it’s important to document the damages and get a claim started as early as possible, because other people will also be filing claims, which could backlog the system. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 4, 2026. Ritika Dubey, The Canadian Press
