Concord Pacific installing flood prevention features for all new buildings

Concord Pacific installing water damage prevention features for all new buildings

Illustration of flooding in a condominium. (Concord Pacific)

Skyrocketing insurance premiums over the last few years in Metro Vancouver have largely been driven by flood damage as a result of plumbing leaks and failures — particularly in newer buildings.

To address the potential impact this could have on housing ownership affordability, Concord Pacific is now outfitting all future new buildings across its enterprise with new water damage protection systems, complete with smart technology, remote action, elevator prevention, and preventive design features to mitigate the extent of water damage incidents and their impacts on homeowners and stratas.

This is the new standard for all future Concord Pacific buildings moving forward.

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“Across Canada, water is the new fire when it comes to the cost of insurance claims and premiums in condos,” said Peter Webb, senior vice president of development for Concord Pacific, in a statement, noting that the various measures are intended to help reduce overall homeownership and strata costs and insurance premiums.

“By incorporating preventative design measures and detecting potential issues early, we can help reduce the number of incidents, as well as their severity and cost.”

Specific measures include an online monitoring system that instantly detects abnormal water flow, notifies property managers remotely, and allows for remote shut off. This will potentially reduce the duration and extent of the leaks, preventing severe damage and disruption.

Additionally, drain valves can also be opened remotely to accelerate the draining of excess building water load from leaks.

water flow detection equipment concord pacific

Water detection flow equipment. (Concord Pacific)

water pressure smartphone app concord pacific

Water pressure change detection warning on the smartphone of a building manager. (Concord Pacific)

For the elevators, expensive and time-intensive repairs will be avoided with new waterproof enclosures for elevators and their computers, with elevator roofs designed to deflect water off the top of the elevator cab. Elevator lobbies will also be slightly graded to prevent water from seeping through the elevator door and entering the elevator shaft.

A smart water sensor in the pit of the elevator shaft will trigger an alarm if water is detected, sending the cab to the top of the elevator shaft and away from the water.

Flood damage can also be the result of the sprinkler system. To further reduce this flooding source as a possibility, preventative building design features will be incorporated, such as recessed sprinklers in all living areas to reduce the likelihood of sprinkler head damage from incorrect usage or accidents.

Concord Pacific is planning to spend up to $4 million on flood prevention and mitigation features for each new building.

Additionally, 12 recently sold buildings will see various water damage protection features at a cost of about $1 million per building.

sprinkler vs recessed sprinkler concord pacific

Difference between a normal sprinkler (left) and a concealed recessed sprinkler (right). (Concord Pacific)

“We believe any loss control systems that can help reduce the frequency and severity of water-related claims will, in the long run, save clients both in premiums and deductibles,” said Steve Storrey, managing partner of real estate division for BFL Canada Insurance Services.

Based on a 2020 report by BC Financial Services Authority examining the state of BC’s strata insurance market, there was a 135% year-over-year increase in deductibles between 2019 and 2020 for water damage in condominiums, exceeding the 130% year-over-year increase for other losses.

In the same year-over-year period, rates for strata insurance soared by an average of 50% in Metro Vancouver and 40% across BC. Nearly half of strata properties (48%) saw a rate increase of 10% to 30% compared to rates in the previous year. On the higher end, 15% of strata properties experienced rate increases of more than 60%.

The provincial government has acknowledged the issue of rising strata insurance rates, starting with its June 2020 measure of ending referral fees between insurers and insurance brokers, as well as property managers and other third parties.

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