B.C. Forest Fires Could Be Second-Worst Catastrophe

Early estimates of insured damage from forest fires still raging through B.C. suggest that this disaster could shape up to be Canada’s second-worst catastrophe loss, with the 1998 ice storm remaining well ahead in loss numbers. Media reports have put a $200 million insurance price tag on the B.C. fires, but the loss could potentially reach as high as $400 million or more (see article on page 24 of this issue).

The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) is unwilling to put a number on the losses, with the bureau’s Pacific region government relations manager Dennis Prouse saying, “it’s going to be a long time before there’s any definitive figure…so many [insurer] members are impacted and there is so much work still to do.” At the time of this writing, fires continued to ravage the Okanagan region, with more than 245 homes destroyed near Kelowna. This is on top of fires that burned near Kamloops earlier in the summer, leaving more than 80 homes and a sawmill destroyed. “Virtually all of these [homes] are insured for the full replacement value,” confirms Prouse. Adjusters are only now able to get into most of the affected areas to begin handling claims, which include property and equipment damage, mass evacuation coverage (for replacement lodging, etc.) and potential fridge and freezer claims for food loss.

At the time of this writing, B.C. remains under a state of emergency, and Prouse notes, “there is no sign of rain in the forecast”, leaving the potential for future evacuations and damage. “We’re really dealing with something unprecedented.”