'A lot of learning to do': Wawanesa Insurance on Fort McMurray wildfire response
Insurance firm will survey its customers on the service it provided during wildfire
Alberta's second-largest insurer admits it could have done things better in its response to the Fort McMurray wildfire.
Wawanesa Insurance will review how the company performed in the aftermath of the wildfire, the company said in an interview with CBC News. It will survey all of its customers once claims are completed.
"I think there's a lot of learning to do on this. It's tough," said Graham Haigh, Wawanesa's vice-president, business development.
"It really does kill both us and our staff when we are not producing service at a level that we would want to for our families."
The Insurance Bureau of Canada said the Fort McMurray wildfire is the country's costliest disaster. It estimates payouts will hit $3.58 billion.
Wawanesa said it has settled 74 per cent of the 4,094 claims it has received to date. It has closed 71 per cent of 2,997 homeowner claims.
CBC News has done several stories in which customers have complained that the insurer doesn't return calls or that its employees are rude. Some complaints have been about compensation payouts being too low.
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Wawanesa said responding to the disaster has been challenging, not only because of its size, but also because Fort McMurray sits hours outside where its staff is centred. Response times and communication have been ongoing issues.
"I am never a fan when our policyholders don't come out as raving fans of our business," Haigh said.
Read your policy
The General Insurance Ombudservice has weighed in and agrees insurance companies need to improve their response times with customers.
Its office has received 74 complaints related to the Fort McMurray wildfire, which is not out of the ordinary in terms of mass disaster insurance claims.
Most of the complaints have centred on policyholders and insurance companies disagreeing on the extent of smoke damage and the repairs that are required to get rid of the smell.
But the service is also seeing that policyholders aren't understanding the fine print of their policies, such as the meaning of the terms "replace" and "repair."
It's encouraging customers to drill down into the wording of their policies so they understand what's in them.