With insurers overwhelmed, Nova Scotia homeowner stuck with unfinished repairs

A homeowner in Chester Grant, N.S., says she's been waiting months for help from her insurance provider after July's torrential rains and flash floods.

Amanda Cresswell'sSouth Shore home is certainly not among those that suffered the worst damage. But her story illustrates how far behind insurance companies and contractors are in keeping up with claims.

Cresswell saidwhen she woke up on the morning after the storm, water had poured in throughher back door.

If that wasn't bad enough, lightning hit the house too, destroying appliances.

Since then, mould has started collecting throughout her house, first along her baseboards, then the walls and ceilings.

"If you look around, this wasn't the worst-case scenario," Cresswell said. "It just got worse and worse as it got left."

Cresswell's insurance provider,Carey Insurance and Financial Servicespart of the Co-operators Group was unable to find a local contractor to work on her home. So they flew a crew in from Toronto.

In a written statement, a Co-operatorsspokespersonsaidit was their only option.

"In situations where our local vendor network does not have the capacity to support our clients, arrangements may be made with our broader network of preferred vendors to provide immediate support to those in need," it said.

"Recently, vendors in our Atlantic region have been faced with increased volumes of work due to catastrophic claims events including Hurricane Fiona, wildfires, Hurricane Lee as well as other significant weather events."

Cresswell saidthe crew from Toronto got rid of the mould,removed flooring throughout the house and cut out damaged drywall, but didn't complete repairs.

The insurer alsosent her $1,500 that she used to help pay hotel bills whenshe and her two children moved out of the housefor eight days while the workers were on site.

But three months after the storm, she said she is still waiting for contractors to come back and finish the job.She can'tlighther woodstove until the heat barrier is rebuilt. Cresswell saidher emails to her Lethbridge-based insurance adjuster and her local insurers are routinely ignored.

"If one person tells me another person will call, that person may call me but they don't do anything past that," she said. "I'm scared at this rate that they are going tolet us freeze to death in our own home."

Her insurers say they're simply overwhelmed with claims and are finding it difficult to keep up. However, shortly after CBC News inquired about Cresswell's situation, her insurers said they're working on it.

"We understand how difficult this situation is for Ms. Cresswell, and everyone who was impacted by the severe storm that hit Nova Scotia on July 21, 2023," thestatement from Co-operators said.

"While we can't discuss the specific details of this claim due to privacy considerations, we can tell you that we have connected with Ms. Cresswell to review the details and discuss her concerns, and have moved this claim towardresolution."

In the meantime, Cresswell saidshe's losing patience.

"I have children. I feel like a failure. Like I can't provide what I need to for my children. And Ifeel powerless because it doesn't matter who Icall, who Ileave the message with ... they can be polite, they can make their promises but no one ever follows through."

With insurers overwhelmed, Nova Scotia homeowner stuck with unfinished repairs

12 months ago

Duration 1:52

Months after flooding and preliminary work, insurance company can't provide anyone to complete repairs. Preston Mulligan has the story.