Barrie, Ontario — Although it is still much too early to make a true estimate of the damages caused by the Barrie tornado, one expert predicts the losses from the July 15 event could significantly exceed those from the 2014 Angus twister.
Glenn McGillivray, the managing director of the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction told Insurance Business Canada that the Barrie tornado was “considerably worse” than the tornado that touched down in Angus, Ont. eight years ago.
The Angus tornado caused more than $50 million in damages with 103 homes affected and 12 homes needing to be completely replaced.
While a partial estimate of the damages caused by the Barrie tornado is expected to exceed $25 million-dollars.
McGillivray says it will be several weeks before an accurate estimate is determined. However, he says the high prices of lumber will affect the cost of claims.
Adding that as communities continue to expand and become wealthier, losses will become more significant.
“We call this the growing bull’s-eye effect,” McGillivray told Insurance Business Canada. “This is the main driver of loss — the fact that our communities are getting bigger, they’re wealthier and when you used to have one old used car in the driveway, now people have three nice cars in the driveway.”
