Update: Jasper rebuild

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include comments from ClaimsPro.

 

Insured losses from the Jasper, Alta. wildfire have topped $880 million, according to initial estimates from Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ).

The sudden and intense wildfire, which began July 22, damaged or destroyed one-third of the community. The Jasper wildfire is now the second most expensive wildfire in Alberta’s history in terms of insured losses, Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) reported Aug. 27.

Ratings agency Morningstar DBRS says Canada’s costliest Cat, the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire, cost $4.4 billion in insured damages. Morningstar DBRS initially estimated the Jasper wildfire could cause up to $700 million in insured damages, with “extra claims” from business interruption.

Claims adjusters are seeing a diverse range of claims on the ground, CRU Group CEO David Repinski told Canadian Underwriter Aug. 28. This includes total fire losses, commercial claims related to smoke and business interruption, smoke damage, additional living expense and evacuations, and some auto claims involving total loss.

“The severity varies widely, ranging from minor smoke damage to complete loss of homes and auto, with some cases only involving additional living expenses or evacuations,” Repinski says.

Dustin Volk, ClaimsPro’s senior vice president of national operations, agrees adjusters are seeing a range of claims on the ground. “Loss types and severity ranges from no damage, smoke damage, partial residential and commercial to total losses of same,” he said Tuesday.

CU also asked if adjusters are facing particular challenges accessing sites or meeting with customers. “At the moment, site access is not an issue; however, we are awaiting the return of some homeowners to gain full access,” Repinski says.

 

Collaborative effort

He adds that updates shared by the Canadian Independent Adjusters’ Association on pre-access approvals, requirements and entrance details have been invaluable. “This has been a collaborative effort, greatly aiding in supporting those affected.”

Volk adds “what is also unique about the Jasper event is an onsite resource centre that enables access to all our partner insurers and adjusters were ready to work with insureds arriving at the centre instantly. This set-up helped to ensure a holistic team approach and overall better experience for the insureds.”

Like with CRU, site access to the Jasper area was not a concern for ClaimsPro. But ClaimsPro did find “some insureds hesitant to re-enter the area due to water restrictions or having reservations about the air quality,” Volk says.

ClaimsPro told CU earlier that adjusters were granted access to the Jasper area on Aug. 12, when they began “damage assessments to sites and properties that have been completely destroyed and other losses.” The Alberta resort town of Jasper officially reopened on Aug. 16, but it was a limited reopening, Repinski said at the time.

“In the beginning, it was challenging to find local temporary housing for our adjuster field team with Jasper being such a remote location,” Volk says. “But we pulled resources together to scout accommodations in advance due to the size of our team for all SCM resources (inclusive of ClaimsPro, Pario and Xpera) for the duration of our investigations.

“We also assigned an onsite manager with daily communication, planning and updates to the field team to ensure a more efficient and hands-on approach,” Volk says.

IBC’s re-entry guide told residents not to assume or expect their homes are ready to occupy. “The damage to our town has been sporadic and not contained to one area,” the municipality said.

 

Community forever changed

“For thousands of residents in Jasper, this has been a time of hardship and heartbreak — homes and businesses lost, lives uprooted and an iconic community forever changed,” says Aaron Sutherland, vice president of IBC’s Pacific and Western regions, in a press release.

Adds Craig Stewart, IBC’s vice president of climate change and federal issues: “As Canada embarks on one of the most ambitious housing plans in Canadian history, we must remember that the most expensive house is the one you have to build twice.”

Rebuilding the Municipality of Jasper and Jasper National Park will take time, IBC notes.

Insurers have been on the ground assisting customers with financial support and beginning the recovery process. Given Jasper’s unique location in a federal park, multiple levels of government are overseeing recovery efforts, IBC adds.

The industry association is calling on all orders of government to “adopt an expedited and coordinated approach to decision-making to ensure reconstruction efforts can begin as quickly as possible.”

The Jasper Wildfire Complex was one of several major Cats that occurred across the country during a six-week period this summer. The other events include a Calgary hailstorm on Aug. 5, and major flooding in Ontario and Quebec in July and August.

“These events have placed immense pressure on insurance adjusters, who are critical following natural catastrophes, as they ensure the industry can support consumers as quickly as possible,” IBC says. “IBC and its members are working with governments and regulators to address adjuster capacity across the country, and to help communities adopt strategies to build resilience and mitigate damage from future wildfires.”

Repinski confirms adjusters are busy these days. “While we are indeed busy in Jasper, Calgary and Ontario, our business model is designed to scale up quickly to meet demand.”

For ClaimsPro, capacity has not been an issue, even with the other Cat events happening somewhat simultaneously, Volk says.

“It is Cat and wildfire season, so we have some idea in advance these events will happen and our national Cat response team remains in a state of readiness to respond,” he says. “We were able to assign and deploy adjusters from across Alberta only to support the Jasper event, while mobilization and assigning other regional Cat events to licensed adjusters from outside provinces for field and desktop assignments where possible.”

 

Feature image: A worker walks in a devastated neighbourhood in west Jasper, Alberta on Monday August 19, 2024. Wildfire caused evacuations and widespread damage in the National Park and Jasper townsite. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Amber Bracken