Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post

octothorp · 07-15-2013, 07:14 PM

I don't really have a problem with the general principle of homeowners being required to make certain upgrades in order to guarantee eligibility for future flood support. And I say that as someone living in a flood fringe area.

At its best, this could function much like an insurance policy for overland flooding, which isn't covered by insurance companies but which I would buy if it were available. Some sort of agreement where I make required changes to my house, and as long as those changes are maintained (checked on by the province on a reasonable, 5-10 year schedule), the house is essentially insured for its full value through the government in the case of overland flooding. Exact details could vary, but the point is it all needs to be very contractual between home-owners and the province.

At its worst, the danger is for this to be a poorly defined and implemented system, where home owners are told what changes to make, but not given any sort of real agreement on how much they are covered for, or on the term through which they're covered.

Here in Sunnyside, I don't think it makes much sense on a house-by-house level anyway. If water breaches the berm for an extended period of time, we're all going under, and there's not much we can do to individual houses to protect against that. Changes like sump pumps and backflow prevention valves might mitigate sewer flooding, but that should be between me and my insurance company; it won't do anything in regards to the sort of mitigation the province is talking about.

07-15-2013, 07:14 PM	#4055
octothorp Franchise Player Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: not lurking Exp:	I don't really have a problem with the general principle of homeowners being required to make certain upgrades in order to guarantee eligibility for future flood support. And I say that as someone living in a flood fringe area. At its best, this could function much like an insurance policy for overland flooding, which isn't covered by insurance companies but which I would buy if it were available. Some sort of agreement where I make required changes to my house, and as long as those changes are maintained (checked on by the province on a reasonable, 5-10 year schedule), the house is essentially insured for its full value through the government in the case of overland flooding. Exact details could vary, but the point is it all needs to be very contractual between home-owners and the province. At its worst, the danger is for this to be a poorly defined and implemented system, where home owners are told what changes to make, but not given any sort of real agreement on how much they are covered for, or on the term through which they're covered. Here in Sunnyside, I don't think it makes much sense on a house-by-house level anyway. If water breaches the berm for an extended period of time, we're all going under, and there's not much we can do to individual houses to protect against that. Changes like sump pumps and backflow prevention valves might mitigate sewer flooding, but that should be between me and my insurance company; it won't do anything in regards to the sort of mitigation the province is talking about.