‘We'd have to strip her down’: Insurance issues concerning mobile home owner in Manitoba
A mobile home owner could potentially be out thousands of dollars after learning her home might not be insurable.
Inside of Gloria Prichard’s RM of Norfolk Treherne mobile home, everything has been redone – from sewage, to wiring, to a new roof.
There’s only one thing left for complete her top to bottom renovation, excluding the frame.
"Once the siding is up that's it. There's nothing left to do on the trailer,” Pritchard said.
The 74-year-old returned to the workforce three years ago to pay for renovations for the 49-year-old home. But after a visit to her insurance broker - she learned her home insurance expires when her home turns 50.
"He hasn't even found another agency that would insure. So at this point there is nobody. So what do you do?"
Rob de Pruis, the national director of consumer and industry relations for Insurance Bureau of Canada, says many agencies are hesitant to insure mobile homes once they turn 30.
"Components are at least 30 years old and sometimes more,” de Pruis said. “Because insurance is about risk it could be a bit more difficult to find the right insurance coverage."
de Pruis says it is possible to insure an older mobile home - and documented improvements will help.
The Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company - a company Pritchard had hoped to insure with, says in a prepared statement they do not insure older mobile homes.
"Older mobile homes have different coverage needs than Wawanesa is set up to provide,” it said. “We recommend that anyone with an older mobile home work with an independent insurance broker, as they are in the best position to help find the right insurance coverage."
Pritchard says if she can't insure it - she will lose her investments if something happens to the home or she moves.
"I would of course live in it as long as I can and then when I'm ready to move or pass on, then we'd have to strip her down,” she said.
Pritchard worries for other mobile home owners, including her neighbours who live in older mobile homes, might be unaware of the insurance issue.
For those who do have an older mobile home - the Insurance Bureau of Canada recommends bringing documents and photographs of home improvements to insurance brokers - and to shop around.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.