An emergency evacuation is ordered, and you are now on the road. You need food, gas, supplies, and a place to sleep. Are these items covered by your homeowner’s insurance?
The short answer, your coverage won’t cover your losses.
On January 12, 2020, many of us in Ontario were awakened to an emergency alert issued by the province of Ontario noting an “incident” at a Pickering Nuclear Generating Station occurred. An incredibly troubling alert to receive in the middle of the night. The alarm was sent in error, though it had some people asking, “how are my family and I protected from a nuclear incident.” Let’s explore that question from a home insurance perspective.
If you live in Pickering, Ontario, your home insurance won’t cover you for nuclear accidents. Even if you have a total loss that will strain your budget. If you read your home insurance policy, you will notice nuclear incidents are excluded. This is in addition to losses caused by war, pollution, flooding caused by floodwater, earthquakes, and a few other things. For occurrences like flooding, and earthquakes, additional coverage may be acquired.
The reason you are not going to find coverage is because you are covered elsewhere. The responsibility to cover damage is in the hands of the nuclear company. This is enforced by the Federal Nuclear Liability Act. The Ontario Power Generation’s nuclear liability is capped at $1 billion, meaning homeowners or residents may be compensated for losses.
Most homeowner’s insurance covers additional living expenses when your home is uninhabitable. This applies to incidents that are covered by home insurance. This remains the case still if a nuclear incident arises and a mandatory evacuation kicks in. However, there are nuances and variations of policies that could cover your costs. It pays to shop around because the wording of different policies changes from one company to another company. Unlike insurance companies, a brokerage can compare what other insurance companies are offering. There is no one policy that all insurance companies use. An insurance brokerage like Riders Plus Insurance can help find the coverage you need.
Need more detail on what is included and excluded in your homeowner’s policy, give the home insurance specialists at Riders Plus Insurance a call at +1 877-251-4504 or you can email us at info@RidersPlus.com
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