{"id":24474,"date":"2025-11-27T17:24:58","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T17:24:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insurance-canada.ca\/?p=84443"},"modified":"2025-11-27T17:24:58","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T17:24:58","slug":"bcaa-data-reveals-top-winter-season-home-claims-and-how-to-prepare-for-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/2025\/11\/27\/bcaa-data-reveals-top-winter-season-home-claims-and-how-to-prepare-for-them\/","title":{"rendered":"BCAA Data Reveals Top Winter-Season Home Claims and How to Prepare for Them"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>Don\u2019t Let Winter Weather Catch You Off Guard<\/h3>\n<p>Burnaby, BC (Nov. 12, 2025) \u2013&nbsp;With colder, wetter months ahead, BCAA is urging homeowners to act now to prepare their homes. Citing claims data that highlights a significant increase in weather-related damage during fall and winter; BCAA recommends taking proactive steps now to help people safeguard their homes and avoid costly repairs.<\/p>\n<p>With more, higher intensity weather events including fall and winter storms hitting the province, BCAA Insurance claims from homeowners from 2020 to 2024 reveal a clear seasonal pattern:<\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li><b>Roof leaks:<\/b>&nbsp;56% of roof leak claims occur in just a 3-month period \u2013 November to January.<\/li>\n<li><b>Backed up drains and surface water:<\/b>&nbsp;resulting claims spike sharply in fall and winter, with 65% occurring between November and January.<\/li>\n<li><b>Overall weather-related claims:<\/b>&nbsp;53% of all weather-related claims are recorded between November and January.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cBCAA data shows that fall and winter weather is risky and rough on our homes,\u201d notes Lydia Fookes, part of BCAA\u2019s Home Insurance team. \u201cThe good news is that proactively preparing your home now can cut the risk of costly repairs and disruption, so we\u2019re sharing some tips to help people get a head start.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>BCAA Home Insurance experts suggest prepping homes for the wild weather ahead with the following essential tips:<\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li><b>Clean Your Roof and Gutters:<\/b>&nbsp;Ensure gutters are clear of debris and properly draining. Consider adding gutter guards to prevent clogs and help divert stormwater away, preventing overflows that can lead to leaks and flooding.<\/li>\n<li><b>Inspect Your Attic:<\/b>&nbsp;Proper insulation and ventilation are crucial for trapping heat, keeping pipes warm (to reduce the risk of freezing and bursting), and preventing dampness. If you spot signs of leaking or damage, fix them immediately, as insurance typically covers sudden, unexpected events, not pre-existing issues.<\/li>\n<li><b>Protect Your Pipes:<\/b>&nbsp;Cold snaps can cause pipes to freeze, burst, and create significant water damage. Preventative steps include turning off and draining outdoor faucets, insulating exterior pipes or those in unheated areas like your attic, crawlspace, or garage, and never letting your thermostat drop below 16\u00b0C, even when you\u2019re away.<\/li>\n<li><b>Prep for Heating Season:<\/b>&nbsp;Maximize your home\u2019s warmth and energy efficiency by reversing ceiling fans, installing weather stripping, adding door sweeps, and caulking gaps around windows and doors.<\/li>\n<li><b>Check your Home Insurance Coverage:<\/b> Basic home insurance policies typically cover damage from internal water sources. Check your policy and explore optional coverage to help with roof leaks or outdoor drain and surface water coverage for more peace of mind.<\/li>\n<li><b>Set Up Before Travelling:<\/b> Set your thermostat to an ambient temperature and be aware that many insurance policies require someone to check on your home every other day for longer vacations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cBCAA has paid out over 95% of claims related to fire, water, weather and theft in recent years, so we\u2019re there when you need us. But I\u2019m sure most of us would rather take a few simple steps now to reduce the risk of winter-weather damage to our homes,\u201d says Lydia Fookes. \u201cTalking to your insurer to understand your coverage and doing what you can now to prepare your home are both important ways to feel more protected this winter.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"smallhead\"><b>About BCAA<\/b><\/h4>\n<p>Driven by its purpose to move British Columbians forward, BCAA (British Columbia Automobile Association) is a long-standing BC Top Employer (Mediacorp) and provides over 1 in 3 B.C. households with industry leading mobility and protection services including Membership, Insurance, Evo Car Share, Evolve E-Bike &amp; E-Scooter Share, BCAA Auto Marketplace and Auto Service Centres. BCAA invests in programs and initiatives to make a positive impact by protecting the people and province of BC, recognizing that the place we call home is all of Ours to Protect. BCAA holds itself accountable to its purpose by setting goals related to its impact on People, the Planet and Prosperity, and sharing results in its annual Impact Report.. For more information, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bcaa.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">bcaa.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"referencetext\"><em>SOURCE: British Columbia Automobile Association<\/em><\/p>\n<p> Tags: <a href=\"https:\/\/insurance-canada.ca\/tag\/bcaa\/\" rel=\"tag\">British Columbia Automobile Association (BCAA)<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/insurance-canada.ca\/tag\/claims\/\" rel=\"tag\">claims<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/insurance-canada.ca\/tag\/tips\/\" rel=\"tag\">tips<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/insurance-canada.ca\/tag\/winter\/\" rel=\"tag\">winter<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Don\u2019t Let Winter Weather Catch You Off Guard Burnaby, BC (Nov. 12, 2025) \u2013&nbsp;With colder, wetter months ahead, BCAA is urging homeowners to act now to prepare their homes. Citing claims data that highlights&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[1],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24474"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24474"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24474\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}