Roofless in Scarborough: Police Investigate a Possible Fraud While an Insurer Denies Most of the Claim
An elderly Scarborough man is living out of a suitcase, his home roofless and in ruins, after what began as a simple knock on the front door last spring. Lawrence Huang was approached in late May by representatives of a company called Super Dry Roofing and Masonry, who told him his roof was infested with rodents, seriously damaged and in need of replacement.
Police are now investigating a possible fraud at the property, while his home insurance company has denied most of his claim. TD Insurance has said it will cover the cost of the home's ruined contents, but not the structural damage.
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There is a hard edge to the claim fight: an insurer can ultimately deny any claim, and the onus then falls on the homeowner to take the company to court if they believe it is violating the policy contract. With most of this claim denied, the burden of that argument sits with the family, not the insurer.
It is not only an individual burden, though. Det. David Coffey of Toronto police's financial crimes unit would not comment on this case specifically, but he says roofing scams are common in the city, and confidence schemes have cost Torontonians $50 million so far this year. That reads as a pattern rather than one bad contract.