MEMBER BENEFITS
TD Insurance Supports Members During Fort McMurray Ordeal
An APEGA Member Benefits provider goes beyond the letter of its obligations, paying temporary living expenses without requiring receipts. So far, more than $21 million has been paid in claims and expenses
Like thousands of Fort McMurray evacuees, Aman Gill, E.I.T., fled the wildfires with only the clothes on his back. He was fortunate in one regard, though — when 88,000 people were evacuated May 3, he was already 40 kilometres south of the city at Nexen’s Long Lake oil sands facility, where he worked in operations. Mr. Gill was able to spend the night at Nexen’s camp. The next day, he headed to Calgary with a carload of stranded co-workers. He didn’t know when he’d be able to return to Fort McMurray or whether he’d even have a home when he got there. An unexpected call from his insurance company provided some peace of mind. “TD contacted me and asked if I needed any assistance. I was quite surprised,” Mr. Gill recalls. “It made me feel kind of special that they cared enough to call.” TD Insurance is an APEGA affinity partner. The Member dis- counts it offers on personal home and auto insurance are arranged through Engineers Canada. Two days after the evacuation, the company wired Mr. Gill enough money to cover his immediate living expenses — no receipts required. TD Insurance continued to check in with him in the weeks that followed, to ensure his needs were being met and to answer any questions he had about coverage on his condo. Says Mr. Gill: “It was one less thing to worry about during a really stressful time. They took good care of me.” Helping customers feel safe during a difficult time and keep- ing them informed was a priority for TD. “Speed matters in these types of situations,” says Craig Richardson, the company’s vice-president of claims operations. “We wanted to be very proactive and demonstrate to our customers that we were there to stand with them when they needed us the most.” By May 4, more than 30 TD Insurance employees were on site at Edmonton, Lac La Biche, and Calgary evacuation centres, providing advice and support to thousands of customers. Another 500 employees were supporting customers remotely. The company also dispatched two mobile response units — one from Calgary, one from Toronto — to evacuation centres
ROAD TRIPPERS WITH A MISSION TD’s mobile response units made it easier for evacuees to meet with an insurance adjusters and get timely support. -photo courtesy TD Insurance
in Lac La Biche and Edmonton. The units are customized RVs equipped with desks and computers, making it easier for evacuees to meet with adjusters to get timely support. “It was really important for us to have a presence at the evacuation centres and to be with those customers that were impacted by one of the worst natural disasters to ever hit Canada,”
WINTER 2016 PEG | 57
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker