What Manitoba wildfire evacuees should know about insurance coverage

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Mobile insurance to help wildfire evacuees

Wildfire insurance support and coverage

As the number of wildfire evacuees in Manitoba continues to grow, questions remain about what type of insurance supports may be available.

“If you have been impacted, if you are seeing the worst of this, the important thing to know is this is what insurance is here for,” said Aaron Sutherland with the Insurance Bureau of Canada in an interview with CTV News Winnipeg on Monday.

Sutherland noted that for most people, the best to thing to know is that all standard home insurance policies cover additional living expenses for when you’re forced from your home due to a mass evacuation. This coverage begins right away and includes costs like food and accommodations.

“If you have been forced outside your home, the best thing you can do is call your insurance representative to make sure you’re getting the support you need in your time of need,” he said.

Sutherland explained that any property damage from a fire is also covered by your home insurance policy as long as you didn’t start the fire intentionally.

“There’s no such thing as an act of god in your policy, so wildfire is covered by all home insurance policies, whether the fire is hitting you right from a tree outside or your neighbour’s property burning down and then hitting yours as well,” he said.

Watch above to find out more about more about wildfire insurance coverage, who you can get in touch with and how this impacts businesses.

• With files from Maralee Caruso.