Canada: Vicious Calgary hail storm costliest in Canadian history
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Pastor Dale Morgan
Aug 12, 2010, 12:14:33 PM8/12/10
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Perilous Times and Climate Change
Canada: Vicious Calgary hail storm costliest in Canadian history
By JENNA McMURRAY, QMI Agency
Last Updated: August 12, 2010 7:09am
Technician Michael Hickman eyes hail damage on a Jeep at the Dent Clinic in Calgary on Wednesday. The shop is booked solid. (Lyle Aspinall, QMI Agency)
CALGARY - The recent storm that hammered the Calgary area with golf-ball-sized hailstones has now been deemed the costliest in Canadian history.
Doug Noble, vice president of the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) for Alberta and The North, said tens of thousands of claims filed following the July 12 storm have caused the total damage estimate for homes, business and vehicles to skyrocket to $400 million.
The previous record was also held by the Calgary area after a storm pelted the city in 1991, generating about 62,000 claims and $342 million in home and vehicle damage.
Noble said it's impossible to tell whether the storm will play a role in determining next year's insurance premiums.
"It's difficult to hold one storm accountable for next year's rates, there's lots of factors," he said.
He also said adjusters will be keeping an extra close eye on any requested repairs to ensure the damages are not fraudulent.
"There's always the risk some people will try to do that," he said.
"The insurance companies or adjusters or brokers all have the expertise to identify them.
"For an expert, it's pretty easy to determine what's hail damage and what isn't."
Meantime, Calgary auto body shops have been inundated with calls and some are booked up well into next year.
"We were getting calls literally within about 10 minutes of the storm; we're still getting calls," said Mark Armstrong, owner of The Dent Clinic at 711 48 Ave. S.E.
Armstrong, who has worked in the industry for 15 years, said the some of the damages are the worst he's seen.
"It's the most extreme and severe damage I've seen from a single hail storm," he said, adding his shop is booked solid until August 2011 with hundreds of clients because of it.
Jamie Lywood, manager at Precision Auto Body Ltd. at 5407 3 St. S.E., said his shop saw a few "very severe" cases where windshields were completely smashed.
"When a stone is big and hard enough to actually take out the glass, it's pretty bad," he said.
"One of the guys I asked: 'Were you driving 100km/h through the storm?' and he said 'No, it was parked.'"
Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips said Calgary is considered to be the "hail storm capital of Canada" and said residents can blame their proximity to the Rockies for the vicious storms.
He said hail stones are formed from layers of rain freezing inside cold, cumulonimbus clouds.
Because of its high elevation, Calgary is closer to these clouds than other cities.
Denver, CO., which holds the title of having one of the costliest hail storms in North America, is in the same boat, said Phillips.
"There's something about being in the Rockies, being elevated," he said.
Canada: Vicious Calgary hail storm costliest in Canadian history
By JENNA McMURRAY, QMI Agency
Last Updated: August 12, 2010 7:09am
Technician Michael Hickman eyes hail damage on a Jeep at the Dent Clinic in Calgary on Wednesday. The shop is booked solid. (Lyle Aspinall, QMI Agency)
CALGARY - The recent storm that hammered the Calgary area with golf-ball-sized hailstones has now been deemed the costliest in Canadian history.
Doug Noble, vice president of the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) for Alberta and The North, said tens of thousands of claims filed following the July 12 storm have caused the total damage estimate for homes, business and vehicles to skyrocket to $400 million.
The previous record was also held by the Calgary area after a storm pelted the city in 1991, generating about 62,000 claims and $342 million in home and vehicle damage.
Noble said it's impossible to tell whether the storm will play a role in determining next year's insurance premiums.
"It's difficult to hold one storm accountable for next year's rates, there's lots of factors," he said.
He also said adjusters will be keeping an extra close eye on any requested repairs to ensure the damages are not fraudulent.
"There's always the risk some people will try to do that," he said.
"The insurance companies or adjusters or brokers all have the expertise to identify them.
"For an expert, it's pretty easy to determine what's hail damage and what isn't."
Meantime, Calgary auto body shops have been inundated with calls and some are booked up well into next year.
"We were getting calls literally within about 10 minutes of the storm; we're still getting calls," said Mark Armstrong, owner of The Dent Clinic at 711 48 Ave. S.E.
Armstrong, who has worked in the industry for 15 years, said the some of the damages are the worst he's seen.
"It's the most extreme and severe damage I've seen from a single hail storm," he said, adding his shop is booked solid until August 2011 with hundreds of clients because of it.
Jamie Lywood, manager at Precision Auto Body Ltd. at 5407 3 St. S.E., said his shop saw a few "very severe" cases where windshields were completely smashed.
"When a stone is big and hard enough to actually take out the glass, it's pretty bad," he said.
"One of the guys I asked: 'Were you driving 100km/h through the storm?' and he said 'No, it was parked.'"
Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips said Calgary is considered to be the "hail storm capital of Canada" and said residents can blame their proximity to the Rockies for the vicious storms.
He said hail stones are formed from layers of rain freezing inside cold, cumulonimbus clouds.
Because of its high elevation, Calgary is closer to these clouds than other cities.
Denver, CO., which holds the title of having one of the costliest hail storms in North America, is in the same boat, said Phillips.
"There's something about being in the Rockies, being elevated," he said.
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