Up to 10% of homes could now be 'uninsurable' because of flood risk. Could yours be one ?

Up to 10% of homes could now be 'uninsurable' because of flood risk. Could yours be one ?

Lack of insurance awareness, vague real estate rules and incomplete flood maps leave Canadians at risk.Lack of insurance awareness, vague real estate rules and incomplete flood maps leave Canadians at risk.

 

Marketplace also found homeowners who lost their flood protection because of multiple claims or specifically because of the growing risk of climate change.The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) warns it's a situation more Canadians could find themselves in.

The IBC told Marketplace it estimates that anywhere from six to 10 per cent of Canadian homes are currently uninsurable due to flooding and that estimate could go up as more insurance companies update their risk assessments to account for the rising threat of climate change.

"As the risk from climate change increases, yes, more Canadians could become uninsurable," said Craig Stewart, vice-president, federal affairs with the IBC.

According to a 2019 federal government report, Canada's climate is warming at double the rate of the rest of the world, and the IBC estimates that currently 1 in 10 Canadian homes are at high risk of flooding and some face possible repeated flooding over the next 20 years. 

But would prospective homeowners be warned about that risk? Going undercover, posing as new homebuyers in Ontario, a Marketplace team found there's no Canada-wide requirement for agents or sellers to warn potential buyers that they're moving into a flood-prone area. Marketplace was told on two occasions that homes were not in floodplains when public data showed otherwise. In another test, a producer posing as a prospective home seller also found agents didn't always advise her to disclose past flood damage.