Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) has opened a dedicated claims centre in Winnipeg after heavy rain, wind, and hail hammered parts of the province earlier this month. The Crown corporation’s Gateway Road service centre will exclusively handle storm-related claims as MPI works through a monstrous backlog following the June 9 storm. John Bowering, MPI’s vice-president of claims, told reporters Thursday it has received a near record-setting 22,000 storm-related claims following the June 9 storm. He said most of those claims are hail-damaged vehicles in Winnipeg while roughly 500 were caused by flooding, wind, or other storm-related incidents. “Whenever you hear about hail, you get a little anxious, a little bit nervous, because it has such a huge impact on Manitobans and a huge impact on automobiles,” Bowering said during a tour of the facility. He said the 22,000 claims are triple the amount MPI typically sees following a large hailstorm and expects that number could reach 40,000 by the end of the year. That would far surpass the Crown corporation’s all-time single-event record of 24,000 claims, set after a July 1996 hailstorm. Bowering added damaged sustained by vehicles during the storm is “all over the map.” “Usually, hailstorms are pretty consistent and this one we’ve seen very large to very small, so it was a bit of an unusual storm in that regard,” Bowering explained. “There’s been some very damaged vehicles coming through with huge dents and their windshield smashed out, and there’s other ones that just have fine hail cover throughout the whole vehicle.” Bowering said the Gateway claims centre is open seven days a week, staffed to handle around 300 vehicles a day, and he estimates most appointments only take 15 to 20 minutes. He explained vehicle owners who have opened claims can book estimate appointments at the Gateway claims centre through MPI’s web portal or at accredited repair shops. “We really want to try to address them as quickly as possible and get those vehicles, so [registered owners] have an understanding about their coverage, their claim, and what are the next steps in the process.” Bowering credited MPI’s online claims portal for getting the ball rolling and to MPI staff who worked over the weekend processing claims. “We really encourage all Manitobans to at least get their vehicle estimated, and at that point they can go work with the shop to get their vehicle repaired, or work with us if the vehicle is going to be a write off.” He anticipates the claims centre will run for the next two to three months to handle claims from areas including Winnipeg, Steinbach, Beausejour and Selkirk. He noted a dedicated team is heading to the Interlake to handle storm-related claims in Arborg.
