The Intact Centre releases top tips to reduce flood risk

Increased flooding due to climate change is one of Canada’s biggest issues and the number one cause of home insurance losses for Canadian households. But we know that insurance is not about things, it’s about people. That’s why Intact has been working in climate adaptation efforts for the past 10 years to help people, businesses and society adapt to our changing world.

This month, the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation released a report identifying cost-effective ways homeowners can protect themselves from basement flooding. With the average price tag to repair a basement reaching up to $43,000 for certain flooding events, Canadians are increasingly seeking help with practical, cost-effective means to reduce their household flood risk. Fortunately, many of the preventative actions highlighted in the report can be completed for less than $250 and can be completed by homeowners themselves in less than a day. These include things like cleaning eavestroughs regularly, maintaining a backwater valve, and disconnecting downspouts and extending them at least two metres away from any building foundation.

“For many Canadians, their home is their biggest asset and ultimately their retirement fund,” said Blair Feltmate, Head of the Intact Centre and a professor at Waterloo’s Faculty of Environment. "To protect that investment, any homeowner who lives where it rains can easily and cost-effectively deploy simple measures to lower their chances of experiencing basement flooding.

“To date, many homeowners have simply not known what to do to protect their homes from flooding – this report corrects that omission by identifying actions that most homeowners can act upon, generally over a weekend.”

The Intact Centre on Climate Change Adaptation is at the forefront of helping Canadians prepare for the changing climate. With water being the number one cause of home insurance losses in Canada it should come as no surprise that the centre’s primary focus is reducing flood risk. The report, called Water on the Rise: Protecting Canadian Homes from the Growing Threat of Flooding, was created based on data from over 300 Ontario households and supported by Intact, the Government of Ontario, the Insurance Bureau of Canada, the City of Toronto, and the City of Burlington.

To read the complete report, visit intactcentreclimateadaptation.ca to find Water on the Rise: Protecting Canadian Homes from the Growing Threat of Flooding.

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Want to share handy flood reductions tips with your friends, family and followers on social media? Go to facebook.com/intact and twitter.com/intactinsurance on your personal device and share the link below to learn more about home flood protection and to check out the new report: http://bit.ly/2UmxDMF