Antonina Gladkova's house was rebuilt after a 2024 fire, but she claims her mortgage provider, Simplii Financial, delayed releasing insurance payments, leaving her and her boyfriend tens of thousands of dollars short. According to bank statements reviewed by CBC News, the lender released only $25,000 out of the required $101,600 for the first payment. Gladkova's experience is not isolated, with legal experts saying such situations are becoming more common due to a "chicken and egg situation" where contractors require upfront payments to finance work. The couple was still 50% short after the bank made an exception and released another $25,000.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-26,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Insurance covered the rebuild of her house after a fire.
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Insurance → cover → fire
Why didn’t the bank release the money on time?
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bank → release → time
Lawyer seeing an increase in insurance payouts not aligning, leaving homeowners to cover shortfalls
The fire that destroyed Antonina Gladkova's property at the beginning of 2024 was just the beginning of years of frustration and financial stress that's cost her tens of thousands of dollars and left her wanting to warn other homeowners about what's in their mortgage agreements when it comes to insurance claims.
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it → see → claims
But the fire "was just the first nightmare," she said.
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she → say → ?
"It became worse."
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It → become → ?
At first, Gladkova says she was relieved with the smooth process of dealing with her insurance company, which covered the full cost to rebuild her half of the semi-detached house in Georgetown, Ont.
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which → say → Georgetown
But, her mortgage provider didn't dole out the insurance payments on pace with her contractor's invoices, and now she says she and her boyfriend are out tens of thousands of dollars and on the hook for a private mortgage they had to get to cover the shortfalls and keep construction going amid costly delays.
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they → dole → delays
"We were absolutely outraged," she said.
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she → outrage → ?
While it's routine for insurance payments to be released in installments through a homeowner's mortgage lender, legal experts say situations like Gladkova's are becoming more common.
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situations → release → Gladkova
That's why she's warning others about her experience in hopes of preventing it from happening again.
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she → warn → it
"The whole system doesn't work.
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system → work → ?
And that's why I want people to know … be prepared," she said.
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she → want → ?
In February 2024, a fire broke out in the neighbouring half of Gladkova's semi-detached property.
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fire → break → property
Her neighbour tragically died in the fire, which spread to her half, completely destroying it.
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which → die → it
Gladkova, who originally lived in the home, had been renting it out for several years after she moved in with her boyfriend.
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she → live → boyfriend
Just over a year after the fire, the insurance payment to rebuild the home was approved at just over $508,000.
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payment → rebuild → 508,000
Because they had a mortgage, the lender, Simplii Financial, was responsible for releasing the funds.
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lender → have → funds
The couple's contractor required the first payment of $101,600, but Simplii only released $25,000, according to bank statements reviewed by CBC News.
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Simplii → require → News
After the couple brought up the issue, Simplii, which is part of CIBC, released another $25,000 as part of what they called a "one-time exception."
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they → bring → what
Gladkova says the inital process was for the bank to release funds based on invoices from the builder and confirmation of completed work.
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bank → say → work
But that would require the contractor, who she says was chosen by the insurance company, to finance the work upfront.
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she → require → work
"You cannot build without the money.
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You → build → money
So it's like a chicken and egg situation," Gladkova said.
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Gladkova → say → situation
The couple filed a formal complaint with Simplii, requesting that the bank release an additional $51,600 so they could pay the invoice in full and keep construction going.
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they → file → construction
The bank declined.
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bank → decline → ?
Gladkova says they didn't have enough money to pay the difference, so they got a private mortgage with a 10 per cent interest rate.
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they → say → rate
After the formal complaint, documents show Simplii changed its process to provide funds based on progress reports of the work that was completed.
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that → show → work
For example, if 20 per cent of the work was completed, Simplii would have provided 20 per cent of the total insurance payment.
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Simplii → complete → payment
But, emails between Gladkova and Simplii show the bank began making the calculation on the first insurance cheque rather than the total insurance payout, which Gladkova says resulted in the couple consistently being about 35 per cent short on paying the contractor.
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couple → show → contractor
Simplii did eventually release all of the money, including through another additional exception payment this past April to cover a shortfall for the third construction invoice.
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Simplii → release → invoice
The rebuild was completed this past June, about six months behind schedule, according to the construction contract.
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rebuild → complete → contract
Gladkova says the couple has paid around $15,000 in interest on the private mortgage and counting, plus thousands to set up the private mortgage and legal costs.
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couple → say → mortgage
There's still an outstanding balance of about $19,000 owed to the contractor as a result of delays because the couple didn't have funds to pay him on time, Gladkova says.
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Gladkova → be → time
She says that because of the private mortgage and the insurance payouts not keeping pace, the amount they owed "accumulated and skyrocketed in no time."
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they → say → time
Simplii's response
In a statement, Simplii spokesperson Kira Smylie says the company empathizes with clients managing property damage and that "wherever possible, we work with our clients to provide flexibility, and we did so in this case."
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we → say → case
Smylie also said Simplii's mortgage terms allow the bank to determine how insurance proceeds are applied.
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proceeds → say → ?
- Video
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Uninsured homeowners ‘stuck in a rut,’ unable to rebuild 1 year after Kingston fire
"Before finalizing the payment terms with a contractor, clients should confirm the payment schedule with us so they can make informed decisions," she said.
Gladkova says she wants to warn others about how vague some mortgage agreements are written.
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agreements → need → others
She says that had the bank told them they would be responsible for any shortfalls, the couple would have made other arrangements.
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couple → say → arrangements
How to protect yourself
Standard mortgage provisions require insurance money be paid to the lender, which will then release the money on a schedule, because the lender has an interest in the property and wants to ensure the funds are used to rebuild it, according to real estate and home insurance lawyers.
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funds → protect → lawyers
Fy Virani, the founder of Virani Law, which specializes in home insurance claims, says situations like Gladkova's that result in payment schedules not alligning are occurring more often.
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schedules → specialize → Gladkova
…and 16 more, not listed.
