Gillian Snider describes her house as a “glorified empty cabin.”
It has no walls, no insulation, and only one outlet of power.
“We don’t have your basic necessities, like light.”
In January, Snider’s home was destroyed by an electrical fire that started in her attic and quickly spread to the rest of her house. Firefighters were able to save the structure of her home but the inside had to be completely gutted.
Snider contacted SGI, her insurance broker of 20 years. She said at first everything was going as planned.
“SGI was great, our adjustor was great,” Snider told CTV News. “But then two and half months into it, we just found out, ‘nope, we’re stopping your policy’.”
At that point, contractors already started the demolition. Snider said she was left with a half gutted house that had no water, no electricity, and no walls.
Snider has filed a lawsuit against SGI and declined to say exactly why SGI stopped coverage, though she did say SGI told her it found an “anomaly” in her policy.
SGI would not comment on the case and has not yet filed a statement of defence.
In a statement to CTV News, the Crown said it cares about its customers.
“In this industry, there are - on occasion - disagreements between an insurer and customer about insurance contracts. This is unfortunate, and when it happens, we try our best to resolve them to the customer's satisfaction.”
Snider said she moved back into her half demolished house because she does not have anywhere else to go. She said as a musician finances are tight.
She said she wants SGI to be held accountable for the condition she’s left in.
“When the bottom line ends up being the dollar instead of concern for your client … I think people need to be aware that this is happening.”
