Floodplain data funding in Ontario budgetUncategorizedApril 26, 2021 The government of Ontario unveiled the second COVID-19 pandemic era budget during their time in office and there are a number of areas of spending that appropriately reflects the new realities we are living in. But one ongoing issue that existed prior to the pandemic continues to be addressed: floodplain mapping. According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, the government announced “a continued commitment to improved floodplain mapping guidance and establishing a flood mapping technique to better identify hazard areas.” See here for the Ontario government’s data on the current floodplain map. The budget document also includes a promise to provide up to $200 million a year for the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund, originally announced this past January. OCIF provides funding for communities with populations of less than 100,000 towards water and wastewater infrastructure, as well as roads and bridges. There was also an announcement of $56.4 million to be invested over four years to create the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network to “accelerate development of the next generation of electric, connected and autonomous vehicles and mobility technologies.” Floods have become an increasingly more difficult risk for insurance companies to handle for consumers due to its frequency within the past few years alone. The unpredictable nature of these events can be a strong factor in how insurance companies rate your home depending on the area you live and whether the data determines that it is in a zone with a high risk of flooding. Electric and autonomous vehicles may be the way of the future, but the potential of vehicles being able to ‘drive themselves’ as well as being powered primarily by electricity instead of gasoline will undoubtedly be factored into future insurance considerations. Therefore, it’s important to keep up with current trends in automobile development should you be in the market for getting a new car or trading in your old one to see what options are out there for you and what kind of insurance would be required.