The fallout from the derecho storm that hit Southwestern Ontario, Canada, on 21 May 2022 continues to impact thousands of property and automobile owners. In the hardest-hit areas of Ottawa and the Town of Uxbridge, Canadian ICMIF member Gore Mutual immediately deployed its claims team to personally assist customers and announces temporary policy changes to make it easier for customers across Ontario to get the support they need.

“When these types of events happen, we want customers to know that they will be supported throughout the process with ease. We immediately deployed our claims team to Uxbridge and the Ottawa region to proactively connect with as many customers with a visit to their home or a phone call, as quickly as possible,” says Neil Weir, vice president of claims. “In many instances, we were connecting with customers before they were aware of the severity of damage or contacting their broker with a claim.”

“Our agility as a company allows us to be all hands on deck to ensure we are there for all those impacted when they need it most,” says Paul Jackson, chief operating officer. “We expect we could process hundreds if not thousands of claims when this over—quite possibly the largest weather catastrophe event in Gore Mutual’s history.”

A full team, including appraisers, engineers and field adjusters, are visiting each of the large losses to expedite the building permit process—ultimately getting homes repaired more quickly. “Our goal is to connect with every affected customer and visit each of the large losses in-person and triage the claim by the end of this week.” added Neil Weir.

During this time of need, Gore Mutual has announced temporary changes to what normally would not be covered to make it easier for customers across Ontario to get the support they need after the 21 May windstorm. These changes include:

• Evacuation/Prohibited Access Coverage: Customers who are evacuated but have no damage to their property will keep their claims-free discount and claims protector endorsement. Mass evacuation coverage won’t be considered a claim on their policy.
• Food Freezer Coverage: Customers who had their power shut off or were advised to unplug appliances during the windstorm may need to submit a claim for replacing food or for purchasing a new freezer. Food freezer coverage won’t be considered a claim on their policy.

Paul Jackson added “Our team will continue to provide onsite support and guidance to impacted customers as we help them through this challenging time. Bottom line, as a modern mutual, we believe doing good by our customers—especially when they need it most—is just good business.”

Built on a foundation of financial strength for more than 180 years, Gore Mutual is one of Canada’s first property and casualty insurers. With offices in Cambridge, Toronto and Vancouver – a Canadian mutual company, offering competitive insurance products through trusted broker partners. Every decision and investment made is anchored in the long-term benefits to customers, members and communities.

Insurance that does good – this is Gore Mutual’s purpose. Grounded in its purpose and guided by its core values, at Gore Mutual, the company believes that being good and doing good by its employees, customers and broker partners will benefit not only them but also the organisation—which in turn allows it to spread good in local communities and reward the good it sees in others. This is what is driving Gore Mutual’s work to become a purpose-driven, digitally led national insurer.