The donation will help fund the critical role the Canadian Red Cross is playing in responding to the needs of the thousands of people impacted by the wildfires.
In addition, RSA is matching the donations of employees across the country, looking to help in the wake of the disaster. To date, more than $24,000 has been raised by RSA employees through the company’s Matching Donation program.
“Our hearts go out to those affected by this terrible tragedy,” says RSA President and CEO Rowan Saunders. “We have customers, brokers and friends in Alberta who have been impacted by the wildfires and our focus is on providing them with as much help and support as they need as quickly as possible. We know that clean-up and rebuild will be a long process but people need help now and we hope this donation will help to provide some immediate relief.”
RSA Canada continues to provide support on the ground in Alberta and from across the country to customers impacted by the Fort McMurray wildfires.
A team of RSA Canada claims adjusters and catastrophe specialists have been on the ground at the Northlands evacuation centre in Edmonton, providing information, support, and urgent financial assistance in the form of direct deposits, email transfers, manual drafts and preloaded debit cards to hundreds of customers. More than 50 RSA Canada claims adjusters from Vancouver in the west to St. John’s in the east worked across the Mother’s Day weekend providing support by phone.
“We’ve been reaching out to customers in the directly impacted areas to check on their safety, keep them informed and offer no-cost grief counselling,” says Saunders. “We are doing everything we can to make their lives as stress-free as possible in this time of disruption and crisis.”
“We have also maximized our call capacity for both property and auto claims, and brought on additional adjusters to support the higher than normal claims volume,” says Paul MacDonald, SVP and Chief Claims Officer, RSA Canada.
“We have been in regular contact with our affinity partners in Alberta since the beginning ensuring we are there to help with the needs of their members and providing daily updates.” Says Ken Bennett, President, Johnson Insurance.
“There is a special connection between Fort McMurray and the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, the home of Johnson Insurance,” says Bennett. “Many of us have a relative, friend, or neighbor who also call Fort McMurray home. This devastation affects us all from coast to coast.
“It’s heartening to see so many RSA and Johnson employees reaching out, across all provinces to assist and support.”
RSA Canada response snapshot:
- RSA Canada has donated $100,000 to the Red Cross to help the victims of the wildfires
- More than $24,000 has been raised by RSA employees through the company’s Matching Donation program.
- Employees on the ground, along with a mobile response unit, are providing support at the evacuation centre in Edmonton.
- To speed up payments to customers, RSA adjusters were actively involved in keying and printing cheques from the company’s Edmonton office.
- 50 employees across the country manned the phone lines over the Mother’s Day weekend and reached out to customers to ensure their safety and let them know we are there.
- RSA radio and newspaper ads in local dailies and provincial newspapers, as well as posters in the evacuation centres, are communicating direct contact information and advice for customers who need to make a claim.
RSA customers can also call 1800 319 9993 with any questions. Johnson Insurance customers can call 1844 229 1272 with any questions. More information about making a claim is available here: http://www.rsagroup.ca/make-claim. Follow us on Twitter (@RSACanada) for ongoing updates.