Some eastern Ontario cottagers haven’t had their homes assessed or just don’t have insurance to cover damage from late July’s severe thunderstorms.
The news comes as the Insurance Bureau of Canada said the July 22 and 23 storms caused at least $80 million in damage from Hamilton to western Quebec, according to claims.
Hundreds of cottagers in the Mississippi Lake and Norway Lake areas are still cleaning up over a month later, with some still caught in an insurance backlog.
“It's just a waiting game, I guess,” said Fiona Bailey, who had giant holes punched in her siding from hail on July 23.
“There are so many claims for this storm that we'll just have to wait and hopefully get things done before the winter.”
The Ennis cottage had nine trees fall onto its roof, which have since been cleared. However, its owners still haven’t been able to return.
Crews replacing another roof on Mississippi Lake estimated a $100,000 price tag for repairs.
“We’ve never seen anything like that around here before,” said Andy Craig of Service Master Damage restoration, who said he’s spent the last month working to clean up from the storm.
“As with here, Norway Lake was hit really bad so I can see the money value going up.”
Many cottagers said they don’t even have insurance, meaning the $80 million is only a part of the total damage.
With a report from CTV Ottawa’s John Hua
