Residents and businesses in the Regional District of Nanaimo that suffered property and content damages during the recent major flooding event can now apply for disaster financial assistance.
The financial aid is a provincial program to help individuals and local governments recover from uninsurable disasters.
Funding is available to qualifying claimants such as home owners, residential tenants, small business owners, farmers, charitable organizations and local government bodies, who were unable to obtain insurance to cover these disaster-related losses.
Claimants’ properties and content must be located within RDN boundaries; this includes all first nation communities, electoral areas and municipalities.
All applicants should first check with their insurance agent to determine if their current insurance policy provides coverage for the resulting damage.
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As part of the DFA qualification process, the applicant’s insurer will be asked to provide a letter indicating that the applicant could not have purchased insurance to cover these disaster-related losses.
Information about Disaster Financial Assistance is available on the DFA web site at gov.bc.ca/disasterfinancialassistance. There, you will find the DFA Application Form, ‘Disaster Financial Assistance Guidelines for Private Sector’, information bulletins about DFA and insurance and ‘One Step at a time – A Guide to Disaster Recovery’.
Residents are encouraged to submit their application as soon as possible so that the damage assessment can be completed promptly. The deadline to receive this form is April 4, 2020.
For more information or to send applications: email: DFA@gov.bc.ca or call toll-free phone: 1-888-257-4777 orfax: 250-952-5542
Applicants will be contacted to schedule an onsite visit.
— NEWS Staff
