P.E.I. insurers inundated with calls following Dorian

It's been a busy day in P.E.I.'s insurance industry as people are getting outside to inspect their properties and calling to make insurance claims, following post-tropical storm Dorian.

"We've had a record number of calls coming in to report claims. The severity of Dorian is all around us," said Blair Campbell, general manager of P.E.I. Mutual.

"Our entire head office has become the claims department effectively, so everybody's pitching in."

More than 500 calls had come in by mid-morning, he said, about a third of what the company normally gets in an entire year.

David McInnis, at Peake and McInnis, said it has been very busy there as well.

"We pretty much anticipated this," said McInnis.

"We knew it would be a busy morning."

Campbell said there has been a lot of prioritizing, getting adjusters out to the most severe situations first.

"It is scattered across the province but we are seeing a concentration in the Summerside area."

"We've seen whole buildings being destroyed. We've seen roofs blown off of houses. It ranges from shingles blown off roofs to trees falling on buildings."

With companies as busy as they are, it may be some time before everyone sees an insurance adjuster, he said.

Campbell recommends that people should not wait to do emergency repairs. It is better, for example, to fix problems with your roof before it leads to further damage. But he said people should take photographs before moving anything, and save any damaged property for inspection by adjusters.

Campbell anticipates it will be months or even a year before all the damage from the storm is repaired. He noted the construction industry in the province was very busy even before the storm hit.

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