Did your condo insurance fees skyrocket? This lawyer wants to know about it

An Edmonton lawyer is travelling the provincetalking to condominium owners, managers and insurers in an effort to get hard data on Alberta'scondominium insurance.

On Thursday,Hugh Willis askedFort McMurraycondo owners abouttheir experience ingetting insurance coverage on their condo complexes.

The response was worrying, he said.

"We can't wait. We can't see another cycle of this," Willis said. "People are losing their homes over this issue and we don't want to see it without the industry pushing a response and suddenly we're back next summer and it's happening again."

It's unclearwhat's causing insurance rates to jump sharplyacross the province, he said.Whilesome owners are toldthey madetoo many claims, others seeinghuge increases have madeno claims in the last five years.

"We have to gather the industry dataso that we can have more informed or more productive discussions," Willis said.

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Willis isn't alone in his efforts to learn more about condo insurance. He's working with several other organizations including the Canadian Condominium Institute North Alberta Chapter, Strathcona County Condominium Associationand Condo Owners Forum.

Since August, condos have been facing much higher insurance premiums.

Steven Webb, an owner and condo board member at Wood Meadows Estates North in Fort McMurray, said the insurance premium on his condo jumped from $500 last yearto $4,500 this year.

And 20 per cent of the units weren't able to pay their share of the insurance, meaning the condo board has to come up with the money to cover the premium.

"I'm not sure if we can actually do it," said Webb. "There's unduepressure on the boards now."

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To cover some of the cost, the board reducedserviceslike landscaping and maintenance.

"That's going to affect the quality in appearance and curbside of your units because they're no longer maintained properly," Webb said.

That also trickles down, because they aren't going to hire as many people to do work on the condos, meaning there are fewer jobs in the region, he said.

It also means hehas less disposable income todonate to local charities Webb said.

Willis said these concerns are somethinghe hadn't thought of before going to Fort McMurray.

"Different perspectives can offer different solutions or different nuances to solutions," he said.

Condo corporations typically operatein silosso it's important to gather information from a wide swath of organizations to get a proper understanding of the market, Willis said.

Higher insurance costsmeans the condo doesn't have the money for upgrades to decks and roadways, said Heather Campbell, a condo owner and property manager with Trilogy condominiums in Abasand.

"We hear grumbling every time we raise condo fees, but then when we can't do a project ...we get anger."

Campbell said she'd like the government totake action quickly, "not after a study is done."

"Cap it now. Let's review the information that's collected, and come up with a conclusion between both parties."

Willis said hesees the same issue across the province, particularly the greater Edmonton area.

His tour will end inLethbridge on April 16. Heexpects to have the first results from the study in mid to late May.

Willis said anyone interested in participating can fill out an online survey being used to collect data from condominium corporations across Alberta related to their insurance coverage. The survey closes March 31.

Organizers plan to share survey findings with the provincial government and the Insurance Bureau of Canada.