Economical Insurance responds to flooding in Southern Alberta

Catastrophe response team mobilized and command centre set up to support impacted policyholders

CALGARY, June 25, 2013 /CNW/ - To help restore policyholders impacted by the flooding in Southern Alberta, Economical Insurance has increased its presence in the area to provide timely and effective responses to policyholders, including full investigation of losses and reviewing policies to help policyholders understand their coverage.

"Our policyholders purchased insurance to give them peace of mind. Now we are stepping up to provide assistance in their time of need," said Karen Gavan, Economical's president and CEO. "We are encouraging policyholders impacted by the catastrophe to file a claim. Our adjusters will be in touch within 48 to 72 hours and will review the insurance policies to determine what coverage exists, such as sewer backup for homes and coverage for automobiles."

In its immediate response to the devastation in Southern Alberta, Economical set up a fully-functioning command centre in Airdrie while its downtown Calgary branch, located in the mandatory evacuation zone, remains closed.

"We deployed our claims catastrophe response team and implemented our business continuity plans to work around the closure of our Calgary office," added Gavan. "Some of our staff are working out of our broker partners' offices close to where claims are coming in as part of our effort to provide 24/7 claims support. These actions are helping to ensure we can respond to our policyholders without interruption during this difficult period.

"We believe the Alberta floods will have a large financial impact on the entire insurance industry.  We are currently assessing the impact on Economical, taking into account our reinsurance programs, and will include an estimate in our second quarter financial results."

About Economical Insurance
Founded in 1871, Economical Insurance is one of Canada's leading property and casualty insurers, with more than C$1.8 billion in premiums and more than C$4.7 billion in assets. Based in Waterloo, this Canadian-owned and operated group services the insurance needs of more than one million customers through 17 branches and service offices across the country. In 2010, Economical announced its decision to become the first federally-regulated mutual property and casualty insurance company to demutualize. Economical Insurance conducts business under the following brands: Economical Insurance, Economical, Western General, Economical Select, Perth Insurance, Family Insurance Solutions, Federation Insurance and Economical Financial.

SOURCE: Economical Insurance

Doug Maybee
Economical Insurance
(T) 519.570.8249
(C) 519.404.0989
[email protected]