IBC informs Quebecers that high winds damage will be covered by most home and auto insurance policies

From wildfires out west to droughts on the prairies to flooding out east, it has certainly been an interesting summer, weather-wise, in Canada.

The latest disruptive natural event to occur is the high winds that ravaged areas of Montreal on Tuesday, an incident that prompted the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) to put out an informative reminder to residents that high winds damage will be covered by most home and auto insurance policies.

In a press release sent out Wednesday morning, the IBC emphasized three recommendations it wanted homeowners to follow. The first was to "Clean up the damaged areas and any property exposed to water seepage, if applicable, to prevent all contamination," the second to "Keep all invoices and supporting documents for expenses incurred," and the third to "Document losses by taking photos or videos, if possible."

The release also informed auto insurance policyholders that car damage will be covered as well if the policyholder chose one of "All Perils," "Specified Perils,"or "Perils other than Collision or Upset"coverage.

Montreal's most affected areas were Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (NDG) and Saint-Henri, two prominent west end neighbourhoods.

"I've never seen such a wind-force. The [trees] were parallel to the ground," said NDG resident Wendy Thomas, describing the sudden and violent onset of the storm that occurred around 3:30 p.m.

The damage, however, stretches far beyond that cluster of homes. Approximately 63,000 Hydro-Québec customers are without power across Montreal, while an additional 52,000 have lost it as well across the province. A staggering 212 of its crews are working on restoring power in those areas.

"Strong winds are expected in its wake, which will likely cause more outages," said Hydro-Québec spokesperson Serge Abergel.