Betting the house… er… pool on the heat

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/07/2011 (5498 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Would you make a half-million-dollar bet on Monday’s weather?

Nelson Barrett would.

Last March, the Winnipeg owner of a pool and hot-tub company took out an insurance policy on the weather — betting approximately $550,000, or the equivalent value of nearly every pool and hot tub Barrett sold between March and July — that the weather on Monday, July 18 would be 34.5 C or warmer.

And with early forecasts calling for a scorcher on Monday, Barrett’s wild-card bet made in March could turn into a huge payday on Monday.

But even with the tantalizing prospect of half-a-million dollars on the line — Barrett has no plans to keep the money if he wins.

The owner of North West Wholesale took out the insurance policy with this scheme in mind: Anyone who purchased a pool, hot tub or water-heater kit from him between March 1 and July 4 could be eligible for a full rebate… if temperatures hit 34.5 C or greater at Richardson International Airport on Monday.

“We had a lot of people saying earlier, ‘Yeah, like that’ll ever happen,’ ” said Barrett. “But we’ve been watching (the weather) this week… and the insurance company is now calling us and saying ‘Make sure you’ve got all the paperwork ready, it looks like this is gonna happen.’ “

Environment Canada is calling for temperatures in the mid-30s early next week, and if it surpasses 34.5 C, some 80 customers from Winnipeg and elsewhere in Canada, through Barrett’s online business, would receive cheques for thousands of dollars.

North Kildonan resident Ken Sywake is one customer eligible for a full refund of the $4,000 pool he purchased two months ago for his four young grandkids.

Ordinarily, the 62-year-old isn’t one to trust weather reports. He prefers to go outside in the morning and gauge the weather himself. But Monday, Sywake and his family will be checking weather reports religiously throughout the day.

“There’s always a chance,” said Sywake. “I won’t be holding my breath but we’ll see — with Winnipeg weather, who can tell?”

If he does get his money back, Sywake knows exactly what he’ll do with it. He wants to buy the fishing boat that he had originally suggested to his grandkids before they asked for a pool instead.

“I was going to buy a fishing boat but they talked me out of it,” said Sywake.

Across town from Sywake at the offices of IC Specialty Brokers LP — specialty underwriter Scott La Croix sounded almost cheerful at the prospect of losing Monday’s weather wager:

“I’ll cross my fingers for (Barrett),” said La Croix, who sold the contingency insurance to Barrett. “I’d be very happy for North West… and all their clients to receive the rebate. It would be a fantastic story.”

Barrett’s claim will be validated based on independent weather experts at Richardson International Airport on Monday.

If temperatures reach 34.5 C or warmer, Barrett will have beaten the insurance industry’s equivalent of “the house.”

“We look at the historical weather data for the region and we identify the likelihood of an occurrence,” said La Croix.

For his part, Barrett hopes his weather gamble pays off and not just for his own benefit.

“If all goes we’ll be able to cut some real nice cheques and we’ll have one heck of a party for all of our customers.”

meghan.potkins@freepress.mb.ca