Some Calgarians on a houseboating trip to Shuswap Lake got stranded first by Mother Nature, then by the BC government.
On Sunday Waterways Houseboats' headquarters was washed away. That was where Ben Gratton and his 12-friends were supposed to dock their boats, retrieve their cars and drive home. Instead they were diverted up the channel to another dock, and then bussed to the BC Government's Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Sicamous.
That’s where they learned their cars were totaled by the flood.
Gratton says the EOC was helping stranded people find shelter, but shortly after he and his group registered an announcement was made that no more houseboaters would receive aid. They were told to leave and find their own accommodations. Waterways Houseboats arranged to bus stranded clients to nearby Salmon Arm and put them up in a hotel for the night.
Gratton contacted CTV’s Lea Williams Doherty for help finding the answers to these questions:
- Will auto insurance cover the costs of getting home and getting a new car?
- Will insurance cover his car that was buried under rubble in the flood?
- How will he get home?
Gratton says to be turned away by the EOC with no explanation was a rude shock.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada told CTV News that while that depends on the contents of the individual's policy. As a general rule, if you have comprehensive coverage, you will get the value of your car back. But if you have collision only, you won't get anything.
Regarding associated costs, if you have 'loss of use' coverage, you will be reimbursed your reasonable costs of getting home, Including necessary hotel stays, up to the limit of your coverage, usually between $900 and $1500.
