According to David Gagné, Vice-President of Quebec-based Groupe Urgence Sinistre (GUS), consolidation in the post-disaster restoration market will continue due to the economic climate.
“This year, independent contractors have closed their businesses in the post-disaster sector because they were unable to meet the demand. With lower claims and current rates, they are unable to invest in their businesses or purchase the equipment required to clean up after a flood,” explains Gagné.
For these independent contractors who used to take on around fifty emergency post-disaster cases, it becomes difficult to meet the demand when the insurer wants to assign them 500 claims simultaneously. “As a banner, we are able to handle a larger volume to help our insurance partners,” he explains. For emergency response teams traveling with equipment and supplies, the cost of diesel fuel is a significant expense. “We’re on the road. When the price of fuel exceeds $2 per liter, we request adjustments, and it takes time” to get them, explains Gagné.
During the summer of 2024, given the volume of claims, some insurers opted to issue cheques quickly, leaving the insured to manage the repairs themselves. A certain percentage of these cases were taken over by GUS because the insured couldn’t find anyone to assist them with the work. “I would say that between 10% and 15% of our interventions involved reconstruction work, where we need specialized labor,” Gagné specifies.
Delays can occur due to disruptions in the supply chain. “When hardware stores are overwhelmed by demand, some materials can be harder to find. A company that manufactures kitchen cabinets can find itself out of stock,” says Gagné.
The torrential rains brought by the remnants of Hurricane Debby fell on a Friday, in the middle of summer. “This volatility of weather events forces us to be increasingly agile; that’s the main challenge. It’s a cyclical and unpredictable market, and reacting to that is the key to success,” says Gagné.
The relationship with experts
The quality of the relationship between claims adjusters and the firms responsible for repair work has improved, notes Gagné. “I’ve seen a change in the industry. As a banner, our relationships with the insurers’ claims adjusters are much better, and not just in Quebec,” he indicates. The development of technological tools facilitates the rapid exchange of information and the updating of claims files, he points out.
Furthermore, he observes the arrival of a new generation of claims adjusters at insurance companies, and their knowledge of the construction market is sometimes limited. “With today’s housing prices, not all of these people have access to homeownership. They aren’t familiar with the construction industry. In addition, remote claims management is taking up more of their time. For more complex cases, this can become problematic,” notes Gagné.
This is where the project manager’s personal qualities are useful. “We have the insured in distress in front of us every day. We are in direct contact with them, which isn’t always the case with the insurer’s adjuster. Sometimes, callbacks take longer, and follow-ups are slower…There are some tasks that fall to us, since we’re the ones who take charge of the client on-site after the disaster,” adds Gagné.
Spring 2026 was relatively mild in terms of flooding and river overflows, as has been the case since 2019, he observes. “Before, we knew that with the arrival of spring and the snowmelt, we would be very busy and would prepare. That’s no longer the case. It’s quiet.”
Progress
When Stéphanie Daoust began her career in the industry in 2008, “we were still receiving files by fax,” recalls the Quebec Regional Operations Manager for First Onsite. “Technology makes everyone’s work easier. With the tools we have, we can provide all the documentation insurers need to manage claims…Sometimes, the claims adjuster isn’t able to go to the scene of the incident. We are the eyes of the insurance companies on the ground. We can take pictures, capture 360-degree views, and share them with the insurer,” she says.
The digitization of exchanges also facilitates communication with policyholders. “We
“We send them a text message to let them know we’re on our way, we’ll be there at such and such a time, on such and such a day. That’s what clients want to know. We can never arrive fast enough, but people want to know the exact time; we have to communicate with them,” says Daoust.
Since joining First Onsite in February 2026, Stéphanie Daoust says she has been “impressed by the quality of the company’s partnerships with its external suppliers. The onboarding process is quite thorough. We want to collaborate with serious people who are financially sound and have the necessary staff when we have needs.” She affirms that this confidence in the company’s partner network is the same among her colleagues elsewhere in Canada.
Managing volume
Providing the best possible service to clients shouldn’t come at the expense of employee health, says Dany Simard, Vice President of Claims at Intact Insurance. In Quebec, the damage caused by Storm Debby in August 2024 required sustained effort, and managers were careful not to overwork their staff.
“Some of them had also experienced water damage. The workload was exceptional, and it was clear we weren’t going to handle all the claims in three days. We knew it was going to be more of a marathon than a sprint,” says Simard. Particular attention was paid to employees’ mental health. “If we want to offer the best to our clients, it also involves managing our own teams and everyone’s energy levels,” he says.
In compliance with the rules imposed by the Quebec regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), Intact used the services of some claims adjusters from Ontario to handle the files of English-speaking clients in Quebec. Underwriters were also transferred to answer calls and perform various tasks to reduce the workload of the claims adjusters. Ontario contractors from the insurer's trusted network came to lend a hand in Quebec, bringing their teams, dehumidifiers, and drying equipment. "We can't have enough people and equipment in-house to handle the demands of a claim like Debby's," he says.
Thanks to his actuarial training and his previous role as Vice President of Intact Lab, Dany Simard was able to use the services of data processing specialists to update the tasks to be completed and document the files. "There were people who filed their claims online that we hadn't yet spoken to. We needed to know that to make an initial call and verify that we had all the information to move the claim forward," he emphasizes.
The catastrophic nature of the disaster made claims management more complex, Simard acknowledges. However, he believes that the major nature of the disaster tempered consumer expectations somewhat. "You talk to your neighbors, the media is talking about it a lot." This allows us to bring everyone's expectations down to a manageable level. People understood that we were doing everything we could and trying to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, according to what was covered by the insurance policy.
Are policyholders aware of the risk of flooding, particularly that caused by torrential rains in urban areas? "Unfortunately, I think many people only realize they're exposed to this risk the day it happens to them," observes Simard.
The insurance company is making a significant effort to raise public awareness and advise policyholders on mitigation measures. According to him, preventing a disaster will always be less expensive than repairing the damage.
This article is a Magazine Supplement to the July issue of the Insurance Journal.
