- As we’ve seen from an insurance adjuster in Calif. is fully aware that smart meter fires are happening. In situations in BC we know that Hydro has paid for repairs on homes and, most likely, has been sued by or reimbursed an insurer under threat of suit for claims paid. Yet the insurance industry has remained silent about this fire risk. I have tried mightily to get an answer from the insurance industry, but you’ll see below in “letters” they refuse to answer my question. When I called to speak with Mr. Wortman, he said they have no obligation to inform anyone of a risk, only to pay claims and subrogate where possible. I could get nothing more from him. Unbelievable. I wonder if they have ever put out a warning about some other hazard… Can anyone find an example?
- Fruit flies are used in lab tests often and it has been found over the decades that if they are affected by something, it is highly likely humans will, too. They are affected by electric fields.
- Electric fields affect wing movement, leading to agitation and changes in brain chemistry
“The research indicates that the wings of the insects are disturbed by static electric fields, leading to changes in avoidance behaviour and the neurochemical balance of their brains.”
“”Fruit flies are often used as model organisms to understand fundamental problems in biology,” say Professor Philip Newland, Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Southampton and lead author of the study. “75 per cent of the genes that cause disease in humans are shared by fruit flies, so by studying them we can learn a lot about basic mechanisms.””
http://phys.org/news/2015-07-electric-fields-affect-wing-movement.html
*********************************
Letters:
Please read this email dialog from the bottom up
———————-
From: Consumer Inquiries – Edmonton [mailto:consumerinquiriesedmonton@ibc.ca]
Sent: July 30, 2015 10:38 AM
To: Dennis and Sharon Noble <dsnoble@shaw.ca>
Subject: RE: Smart Meters — missed link added and amended
Hi Sharon, Heather is not in for a few days so I’m taking the liberty to reply to your request.
As explained the Insurance Bureau of Canada is not a regulator and from the information you have shared you want to deal with a regulator in order to bring about change. We do not have a list of individuals we could provide you with that would look into the matter raised by you but respectfully suggest you contact your provincial government information line or for that matter the federal government information line and have them put you in contact with the department and individual that would look after your concern and who has the ability to bring about change regarding the smart meters. O.K.?
Frits Wortman, CIP
Senior Consumer Information Officer
Insurance Bureau of Canada
T: 780-423-2212
F: 780-423-4796
Toll Free: 1-800-377-6378
www.ibc.ca
____________________________________-
From: Dennis and Sharon Noble [mailto:dsnoble@shaw.ca]
Sent: Wednesday, July 29, 2015 11:37 PM
To: Consumer Inquiries – Edmonton
Subject: Smart Meters — missed link added and amended
Hello, Heather,
Could you please provide me with the name and email address of someone who might be able to answer my question?
Thank you,
Sharon
__________________________
From: Dennis and Sharon Noble [mailto:dsnoble@shaw.ca]
Sent: July 27, 2015 5:39 PM
To: ‘Consumer Inquiries – Edmonton’ <consumerinquiriesedmonton@ibc.ca>
Subject: Smart Meters — missed link added and amended
Heather,
Most smart meters are not certified, and even those that have been, e.g. Sensus, still cause fires. The very smart meters that were recalled in Saskatchewan were later certified by UL.
You should share this legal brief with your colleagues in which testimony is given that both Itron Openway and Landis & Gyr meters have failed and caused many fires. The ITRON Openway is the very same meter being installed in British Columbia.
https://stopsmartmetersbc.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Reed_Answering_Brief-1.pdf
The fault identified in this Texas legal action is that the analog meter base is not compatible with the smart meter. Everywhere the meter bases are owned by the insured and were designed, tested and certified to hold only an analog. So the victim and the insurer are facing fires caused not only by faulty meters but also by misuse of a CSA certified meter base. Certainly an insurer should not be willing to pay claims and hold the homeowner guilty for such misuse that results in a fire.
The insurer is not sharing information with their customers – neither providing a copy of the inspection report nor advising about whether the claim is being subrogated.
You still have not answered my question. If you cannot tell me what the insurers’ obligation is regarding advising both their clients and the public should they find a device, any device, to be dangerous, please tell me who can. Pretend I’m not concerned about smart meters. If there had been fires associated with a toaster, would the insurer speak out about this danger?
Heather, if you cannot answer this question, could you please tell me who could? I think this is a basic question that the insurance industry must have considered in the past.
Regards,
Sharon
___________________________________
From: Consumer Inquiries – Edmonton [mailto:consumerinquiriesedmonton@ibc.ca]
Sent: July 27, 2015 12:19 PM
To: Dennis and Sharon Noble <dsnoble@shaw.ca>
Subject: RE: Smart Meters
The decisions about the safety of smart meters and their electrical wiring rests with the province (i.e. BC Safety Authority). Insurers may subrogate if they decide to, but it is an individual companies’ decision. If you want to know whether your claim was subrogated she should contact her insurer.
Further to that Underwriters Laboratories also provides safety certification for smart meters in Canada. Many insurers rely on UL information for underwriting criteria.
That’s really all the information I can provide.
Regards,
Heather Cournoyer, CIP, CCIB
Consumer Information Officer
Insurance Bureau of Canada
T: 780-969-3190 | F: 780-423-4796
Toll Free: 1-800-377-6378
_________________________________________
From: Dennis and Sharon Noble [mailto:dsnoble@shaw.ca]
Sent: Monday, July 27, 2015 11:02 AM
To: Consumer Inquiries – Edmonton
Subject: RE: Smart Meters
Hello, Heather,
Thank you very much for this clarification.
I realize that at this point smart meters are not illegal, but if they are found to be causing fires or damages, would the insurance companies not be required to speak out about them to alert the public of the potential fire risk? I am trying to understand the insurers’ fiduciary responsibility to its clients, if not the public in general.
I am not talking about the insurer refusing to pay claims. They are not. But what they are doing is subrogating the claim, without telling their clients, and without telling their customers generally, and certainly not the public, that there have been smart meter fires. I am asking what the insurance industry’s obligation is when they know about a product or device that is causing fires.
Perhaps you would be interested in an article by an insurance adjuster/inspector in the US. Similar situations are occurring in BC and Quebec (and perhaps other places as well). I would appreciate your comments.
http://www.examiner.com/article/are-insurance-companies-avoiding-the-smart-meter-problem
Regards,
Sharon
“When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.” Thomas Jefferson.
_________________________________–
From: Consumer Inquiries – Edmonton [mailto:consumerinquiriesedmonton@ibc.ca]
Sent: July 27, 2015 7:20 AM
To: Dennis and Sharon Noble <dsnoble@shaw.ca>
Subject: RE: Smart Meters
What I said was that as it relates to any fires, however caused, the insurance acts do not allow insurance companies to deny fire claims. A fire caused by a Smart Meter is not one of those exclusions. You could refer to the Fire Statutory Conditions of your Province to see what conditions might apply. Insurance companies are obligated to abide by the federal and provincial laws and statutes and at this point it appears smart meters are not illegal.
Hopefully that answers your questions.
Kind regards,
Heather Cournoyer, CIP, CCIB
Consumer Information Officer
Insurance Bureau of Canada
T: 780-969-3190 | F: 780-423-4796
Toll Free: 1-800-377-6378
——————————————————-
From: Dennis and Sharon Noble [mailto:dsnoble@shaw.ca]
Sent: Friday, July 24, 2015 9:50 PM
To: Consumer Inquiries – Edmonton
Subject: Smart Meters
Hello, Heather,
Thank you for your response, but I’m sorry I don’t understand what you have said. Could you please explain what you mean when you say provincial Insurance Acts “allow for a very limited number of exceptions”? Exceptions to what and in what regard? And how this pertains to my questions?
Best regards,
Sharon Noble
______________________________________
From: Consumer Inquiries – Edmonton [mailto:consumerinquiriesedmonton@ibc.ca]
Sent: July 23, 2015 12:26 PM
To: dsnoble@shaw.ca
Subject: Smart Meters
Thank you for your inquiry.
The Insurance Acts in all Provinces allow for a very limited number of exceptions related to the cause of a fire. A fire due to a smart meter is not one of them.
Kind regards,
Heather Cournoyer, CIP, CCIB
Consumer Information Officer
Insurance Bureau of Canada
T: 780-969-3190 | F: 780-423-4796
Toll Free: 1-800-377-6378
_______________________________________________
From: dsnoble@shaw.ca [mailto:dsnoble@shaw.ca]
Sent: Wednesday, July 22, 2015 11:26 PM
To: Consumer Inquiries – Edmonton
Subject: Public Website contact inquiry from Sharon Noble
| Name | Sharon Noble |
| Phone | 250-478-7892 |
| dsnoble@shaw.ca | |
| What Province or Territory are you inquiring about? | British Columbia |
| Who would you like to speak to at IBC? | Consumer Information Officer |
| Please Specify | |
| Please Type your question or Comment Here | Across Canada there have been many smart meter related incidents ranging from damaged appliances to home fires. These meters have not been certified to be safe or compatible with the analog meter bases into which they are being installed. Electrical experts have found many design flaws that could lead (and may have led) to fires. Why is the insurance industry not speaking up about these incidents and the fire hazards that these pose? Insurance companies are paying claims, increasing premiums, but are not warning the public that lives and property are being put at risk. Isn’t this something that insurers are obligated to do? I very much look forward to receiving a response about this very important issue. Regards, Sharon Noble Victoria, BC |
_________________________________
Newsletter prepared by Sharon Noble
“In a room where people unanimously maintain a conspiracy of silence, one word of truth sounds like a pistol shot.” Czeslaw Milosz