(Reuters) – Insurers began to assess the damage on Friday after massive storms, including tornadoes, hit southern Ontario late on Thursday, killing one person and destroying homes, businesses and cars.

“At this point it is still too early to say how many of our policy holders are affected. What I can say is that it will be a very busy few days for our independent brokers,” said Ian Blair, a spokesman for Intact Financial Corp, one of Canada’s largest property and casualty insurers.
As many as four tornadoes reportedly touched down in southern Ontario, north and west of the provincial capital of Toronto, early on Thursday evening.

Environment Canada had not yet confirmed the tornadoes, but said it had received several reports of tornado and funnel cloud sightings, as well as reports of flipped cars, destroyed buildings and uprooted trees in communities across the southern part of the province. Some flooding was also reported.

“At this time we cannot officially confirm there were tornadoes at any location, but that being said, there is no doubt that there were. I simply don’t want to pre-empt the conclusions of the investigating teams,” said Peter Kimbell, a meteorologist at Environment Canada.

“There were probably four, or at least four, but it is too early to confirm with certainty,” Kimbell said, adding that five teams were out investigating damage across the region.

There was one reported death, of an 11-year-old boy who was camping at a conservation area near the small town of Durham, Ontario, northwest of Toronto, as well as numerous injuries.

A spokeswoman for the Insurance Bureau of Canada, an industry association, said damage from the storm’s winds, hail, rain and flying debris is likely covered by most homeowner policies and by comprehensive auto coverage.

“Most of the stuff that happened last night should be covered,” said Nikki Holland, manager of government relations at the IBC.

Damage from falling trees and water entering homes through roofs or windows damaged by the storm are typically covered by property insurance, Holland said, but noted that “overland flooding” – where water comes into homes from ground sources – is not typically covered.