Fort McMurray fires break record
It’s official: the Fort McMurray wildfires will be the costliest natural disaster in Canadian history.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) made the declaration during a conference call this week after tallying the insurance claims made since May. Damages resulting from the fire could top $3.5 billion, according to the bureau. That’s almost twice as much as claims made following the 1998 Ice Storm in Ontario and Quebec, which resulted in damages totalling nearly $2 billion, after adjusting for inflation.
Bill Adams, a spokesperson for the IBC, said the scale of the disaster is unprecedented, and “one of the most horrific and damaging disasters in Canadian history.”
There are now more than 30,000 personal and commercial claims either settled or pending as a result of the fires, and the average payout will exceed $100,000.
Perhaps even more alarming, Adams said Alberta could see many other extreme weather events like the Fort McMurray wildfires last May. Adams said climate change is at least partly to blame:
“Ultimately what we are seeing is that our climate is changing, and the long-terms trends are a direct result of those dynamics,” he said.
As the frequency of natural disasters seems to be increasing, many experts are calling for updated building codes mandating greater use of fire-resistant materials along with better emergency planning.
Also on the table: higher insurance premiums to offset the rising risks posed by fires, floods and other disasters. Several agencies, including Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s Canada, have suggested over the past several weeks that home insurance rates could rise because of the severe weather events that seem to be happening with increased frequency and ferocity.
For Fort McMurray residents, the only good news is that a standard home insurance policy should cover most of the damage from the wildfire, although some insurers are taking extra time to process the vast influx of claims made since May.