Southern Alberta's Great Flood of 2013 has finally hit Innisfail – in the town's pocketbook.
As a result of the floods causing almost $2 billion in damage claims across the province, the Alberta Municipal Services Corporation's (AMSC) insurance program has issued the town an invoice for $180,880.71 – a difference of $22,502, and more than 14 per cent more than the amount the town budgeted for in 2014.
The increase this year is more than 10 times the hike the town experienced last year when it received its invoice from AMSC, said Heather Whymark, the town's director of corporate services.
“I am shocked. I had a feeling it was going to come in a little higher but did not think that high,” said Whymark, who presented a report at town council's regular meeting on April 14. “There had been lots of discussions in the news about what the floods were going to do to the insurance but I was not expecting quite this much of an increase.
“To replenish their (AMSC) funds it is going across the board because environment is becoming a higher liability than property and vehicles,” she added.
Each year the town purchases insurance to cover all its vehicles, property, and equipment, as well as for general, auto and environmental liability.
To pay for the unexpected steep increase, the town will have to dip into its $130,000 contingency fund for the first time this year.
“At the end of each budget we always have what is called a contingency for something like this, that is not planned, scheduled, something that throws our budget out of whack a little,” said Whymark. “It is so we always have a pool in place that we work off of.”
And with this past winter bringing record amounts of precipitation, there are concerns with municipal officials everywhere that insurance premiums could get even higher.
“It has already started,” said Whymark of the concerns of more flooding. “I believe Bowden has already got hit.”
