Radar can help
RadarTM, a severe weather alert service, is available for free on The Personal Mobile app. It lets you know about severe weather in your area when it’s happening. Unlike a typical weather app, Radar identifies risks such as high winds, hail, heavy rains and fire within a 500-metre radius of your home (up to 5 locations total), which gives you the opportunity to protect your family, home and vehicle before the weather hits.
4 types of natural disasters and how to keep your home safer
Extreme weather events such as floods, wildfires, windstorms and hail are becoming more frequent. They're also becoming more intense and causing more (and more expensive) damage. But there are steps you can take to prevent damage to your home.
For example, have you ever considered your gutters? Clean eavestroughs help direct water runoff away from your home (ideally with the help of downspouts pointed at least 2 metres away from your foundation). This can help protect against flooding, which is always a risk during weather events such as torrential rains, hurricanes and hailstorms. And it’s doubly protective, since by eliminating debris such as dry leaves, pine needles and branches, you’re helping to reduce your fire risk!
Check out these tips for more ways to protect your home.
Flash flooding and heavy rains
With flash floods and torrential rains becoming increasingly common across the country, many homeowners are looking for ways to limit their risk and make their home more resilient to flooding.
We’ve put together a handy guide to help homeowners prepare for potential flooding, know what to do in the event that it occurs and make their homes more resistant to future incidents. From simple steps like cleaning your gutters to more involved measures like installing a sump pump, our useful guide can help provide useful information.
In addition, don’t overlook the value of checking your home insurance coverage, as standard home insurance protection doesn’t always cover overland flooding. And always remember, your insurer can help answer any questions you may have.
Forest fires
With summers growing longer, hotter and drier, wildfires are becoming increasingly common all over the country. Thankfully, there are a number of things you can do to prepare your home from potential fire damage.
From simple steps, such as raking up leaves and debris around your house, to more involved measures, like installing a spark arrestor in your chimney, or even hiring a professional to help you fireproof, you can help improve safety in and around your home.
For more information on how to plan ahead, what to do in the event that a fire strikes your area, and how to react if your home suffers damage, check out our guide to wildfires. And don’t forget that your insurer can answer any questions you may have about your wildfire coverage, offering peace of mind.
Tornadoes, hurricanes, tropical storms and high winds
Intense winds and windstorms are on the minds of a growing number of Canadian homeowners. Most commonly occurring in the spring and summer, tornadoes affect a large portion of Atlantic Canada and the Prairies, while hurricanes are increasingly hitting the East Coast.
Thankfully, there are many things homeowners can do to help limit the impact of these storms. By making your home more resilient to strong winds and heavy rains, you help reduce risk and work to prevent severe damage to your property.
Whether it’s cleaning out your gutters, reinforcing your roof and windows, or firmly anchoring outside structures in your yard, each preventive measure you take can go a long way to helping keep your home safe. And good insurance makes a big difference, too!
Check out our article for practical tips on how to face strong winds.
Hailstorms
Canada has been increasingly impacted by hailstorms in recent years, and their ability to cause rapid and significant damage to homes and vehicles should not be underestimated. Despite being short-lived, their sudden onset makes hailstorms particularly tough to predict.
Luckily, preventive measures, from simple steps you can take on your own to hiring professionals, can be done in advance to protect your property. And when damage does occur, your home and auto insurance should usually cover it.
To learn more about hailstorms, preventive and protective measures you can take to limit the damage they cause, how insurers can help and more, check out our full article on this extreme weather phenomenon.
General tips to stay safe during a natural disaster
To keep your family safe in the event of a natural disaster, it's important to have an emergency plan and an emergency kit ready to go. Knowing what to do makes everyone feel empowered.
Keep your family safe – have an emergency plan
One of the most important things you can do to prepare for an emergency is to have a plan for how to stay safe. With a plan, everyone will know what their responsibilities are, where to go to be safe or/ and to meet up, and they'll have the tools they need to take care of each other.
Keep your family safe – prepare an emergency kit
Be sure to set aside enough supplies to take care of yourself and your family for 72 hours after an emergency. Some key items to include in your emergency kit are:
- Water (2 to 4 litres per person)
- Canned food and an opener, energy bars and other non-perishable foods
- A flashlight and extra batteries
- A first-aid kit
The Insurance Bureau of Canada has a detailed checklist you can use to create your own emergency plan and kit.
Prepare for the worst (but hope for the best!)
As you might have noticed, many of the steps you can take to protect your home against a given climate event can protect against multiple events. So why not start today? Small improvements to your home's safety can pay off big time.
Prevention tools
Prevention tools, such as Radar, can help you get ready for severe weather. Radar is a weather alert service that can pinpoint severe weather risks for up to 5 specific addresses and send you alerts so you can prepare.
Filing a home insurance claim
If you do have to file a claim, don't worry. We make it easy and are here to guide you through the process.
You can file a claim online or over the phone, whichever is easier for you. We know it's a stressful time, so we’re committed to helping however we can.
One thing you can do to make the process easier for yourself is to keep a checklist of everything in your home. Ideally, your checklist will be backed up by receipts, descriptions, or pictures of all your things.
Weather the storms
By making sure you’re aware of the kinds of climate events that are common in your region, staying on top of weather alerts, and making your home more resilient, you can help keep your home safer.