Court rules wind is specified peril, not water

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled that water damage done to a policyholder’s roof — which was under construction — is insurable because it was wind that blew protective tarps off, exposing the roof to a rainstorm.

InVennard v. Aviva, JamesVennard was re-shingling the roof of his home. Though the weather forecast for the day was partly cloudy, a system of heavy rain and wind blew in.

Vennard took measures to secure their roof with tarps, but heavy gusts of winds blew them off, leaving the deshingled roof exposed to a deluge of rain, Justice Peter A. J. Harris wrote in his decision.

Insurance coverage was denied on the basis that there were insufficient tarps on hand to protect the roof, and the event falls outside the contract of insurance. But Justice Harris disagreed. “I find that the damages were created by water which entered through an opening which had been created suddenly and accidentally by an insured peril other than water damage,” wrote Justice Harris.

The specified peril that created the opening, he added, was the windstorm tearing away the tarps. The Vennards were awarded $26,569 with pre-judgement interest from the time of the service of the claim.