With more flooding in recent years, there has been a significant
rise in litigation relating to flooding and this trend is expected
to increase over the next 20 years as a result of climate
change.
Insurance companies are seeing an increase in claims related to
OVERLAND FLOODING. This is water that enters your home or property
from a point at or above ground level caused by the overflow of a
lake or river, or a heavy rain or rapid snow melt. Many
insurance policies do not cover damage from overland flooding and
most Canadians do not know whether or not they are covered for this
increasingly significant risk.
Canadian laws related to flooding can be very old. The
Supreme Court of Canada, in 1936 in Southern Canada Power Co.
Ltd. v. The King, concluded that anyone, who interferes with a
natural water course, has a duty to see that the works they
substitute for the channel provided by nature are adequate to carry
off the water brought down even by extraordinary
