{"id":787823,"date":"2026-07-08T08:20:22","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T08:20:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/787823\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T08:20:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T08:20:22","slug":"ottawa-senior-says-flooding-destroyed-his-home-and-insurance-wont-cover-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/787823\/","title":{"rendered":"Ottawa senior says flooding destroyed his home and insurance won’t cover it"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many Ottawa residents affected by devastating flooding on Canada Day are uncertain by what their insurance can or won\u2019t cover, including one 90-year-old man. <\/p>\n

A 90-year-old Ottawa man says he has been left with no clear answers after record breaking rainfall on Canada Day destroyed the basement of his home and decades of family memories.<\/p>\n

Bill Sandziuk has lived in his home for 51 years. Now, many of his belongings are piled on the curb, downstairs and in the backyard.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything is gone, including the family treasures,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Flooding Bill Sandziuk has lived in his home for 51 years. Now, many of his belongings are piled on the curb, downstairs and in the backyard after flooding on Canada Day. (Katelyn Wilson\/CTV News Ottawa) <\/p>\n

He says he has paid for insurance for 67 years but is now being told the damage is not covered.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy paper copy says I\u2019m covered, but over the phone says I am not,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, I don\u2019t know where I stand. I don\u2019t know where the next move is from here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sandziuk says he has been with the same agency since 1959. Over the years, it\u2019s changed hands, and his policy is now with Intact Insurance.<\/p>\n

\"\"Flooding Bill Sandziuk’s home after major flooding following a major storm on Canada Day. (Katelyn Wilson\/CTV News Ottawa) <\/p>\n

In a statement to CTV News, Intact says, \u201cWhile we cannot speak about specific details on customer files, what we can share is that our teams are actively working with this customer to resolve the issue.\u201d <\/p>\n

But without a clear answer, he says he has been left to pick up the pieces himself, with help from his son and daughter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had almost three feet of water in the kitchen,\u201d he said. \u201cThe laundry machine was floating like a boat\u2026 so I have to replace everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sandziuk is not the only one waiting for answers.<\/p>\n

On the same street, his neighbours say they are also waiting on insurance. A restoration company has already been inside their home, but they say many others are still waiting for help.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s still a lot of people who are in a bad situation without a furnace, AC, hot water, that are still waiting for a response,\u201d Jon Pick said. \u201cYou\u2019re in this massive queue of people waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Flooding in Ottawa Belongings damaged after a storm on Canada Day flooded basements are seen on lawns to await disposal, in the Qualicum \u2013 Graham Park neighbourhood of Ottawa, on Tuesday, July 7, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Justin Tang <\/p>\n

The Insurance Bureau of Canada says with thousands of flooded basements, coverage depends on the policy and how the water entered the home.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best advice is to reach out to your insurance provider to understand what coverage you do have,\u201d said Rob De Pruis, national director of consumer industry relations for the Insurance Bureau of Canada said. \u201cYou can also add coverage now. It won\u2019t help you for this event, but it will protect you from future events.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019ve already reported the claim, you can do some work yourself. Take lots of pictures, make sure that you take video and track your hours. If you have to buy anything in order to deal with some of the damages in your basement, make sure that you keep all of those receipts because your adjustor will want to see them.\u201d <\/p>\n

Sandziuk says he is now waiting for an appraiser to survey the damage. But roughly a week after the flood, he still does not know what happens next.<\/p>\n

\u201cUntil then, I don\u2019t know what\u2019s happening and I\u2019m afraid mold will start to set in,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s almost a week now. I don\u2019t know what\u2019s the next move. It\u2019s just a helpless feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe says he plans to bring forward a motion at the next council meeting to increase funding for qualified property owners and tenants affected by flooding caused by a sewer surcharge.<\/p>\n

The province is also working to help affected residents apply for disaster recovery assistance, with more details expected once available.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Many Ottawa residents affected by devastating flooding on Canada Day are uncertain by what their insurance can or…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":787437,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194295],"tags":[712,49,48,20739],"class_list":["post-787823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ottawa","tag-apple-news","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-ottawa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=787823"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787823\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/787437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=787823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=787823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=787823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}