‘It’s very inhumane’: Montreal family resorts to sleeping on floor awaiting flood insurance claims

Like many Montrealers whose homes were flooded in early August, Pincourt resident Svetlana Chernienko and her family have been left picking up the pieces and adjusting to a new normal — one of distress and discomfort.

For over two weeks, the family has slept huddled together on their upstairs living room floor, as their basement bedrooms cannot be used due to the flood.

Living in the home with Chernienko is her husband, teenage daughter, nine-year-old son with autism, and her mother.

The family is in the second month of a back and forth with their insurance provider, TD Insurance, and they continue to wait for answers.

“It’s disappointing that we have to live like this, it doesn’t make any sense,” said Chernienko. “It’s stressful trying to explain to my nine-year-old son who has autism that this is his life right now.”

Chernienko says TD Insurance refused to pay for any Airbnb’s or hotels that would fit the family’s accommodation needs, which are specific because her son has autism.

The family temporarily rented an RV after the flood, which was covered by their insurance though they had to pay $16,000 to secure it. It was later picked up by the rental company after their 30 day window, where the family has continuously reached out for relocation and rehoming.

The family is now waiting for accommodations from their provider.

On the first few nights back in their home, the family slept on air mattresses, which were eventually deflated by their pets, leaving the family to use bedding with minimal support.

“Nobody should be going through this, after August the 9th, nobody should be mistreated this way,” Chernienko said. “Now for me, it is a matter of principle that I’m standing up for myself and other people in the community that may feel like they don’t have a voice against this.”

Despite having a premium coverage of $3 million, their home remains damaged, with Chernienko saying she’s been in a constant exchange with numerous insurance agents. They are awaiting estimates from TD and First Onsite property reconstruction company to move forward.

TD and First Onsite did not answer CityNews’ requests regarding Chernienko’s case when asked about the claims on Sept. 30, Oct. 1 and Oct. 2. They also did not respond when asked when the family can expect a proper resolution.

Part of the family’s coverage offers proper relocation, which must include the same number of bedrooms, bathrooms and furnishings as their house with a reasonable price. Chernienko says she’s provided multiple locations, though they were shot down and offered with locations that can’t fit the family’s needs. She says they are still waiting for their quote estimates.

“We’re just going around in circles, nothing, there’s no resolution in anything,” she said.

“It’s taking a toll on us mentally, physically, emotionally.”

Chernienko says it is not a sustainable situation, as costs for their storage pod in the front of their home and hot water tank continue to rise. They are paying out of pocket while waiting for a wire transfer from TD.

Chernienko says at one point, they had to pay additional costs out of pocket, and though it was part of their coverage for reimbursement, she claims it took multiple requests for the money to come through.

She is also claiming loss of income, as her home office was destroyed in the basement flood. She has since moved the office and is still left waiting on a response for the rental bill to be paid, which she says she also paid out of pocket and claims should be covered by her insurance.

‘It’s very inhumane’

“It’s extremely difficult, it’s disheartening that the insurance company is mistreating us this way as well, it’s very inhumane,” she said.

She claims that to date, no resolution has come forward, but she remains confident her home and stability will return to the way it was. 

“Offer us a settlement, actually offer us a settlement because they wanted to offer us or they said that they did, but they never did offer us a settlement,” she said.

“Close the file so we can keep it moving.”