Insurance expert argues opportunity to make Fort McMurray homes more fire-resistant being squandered in rebuild
It's been an entire year since the urban service area of Fort McMurray was tragically engulfed in flames and forced to evacuate almost 90,000 residents. The wildfire was absolutely devastating on so many levels, one of which being that it represented the costliest disaster in Canadian history. Damages were estimated at nearly $9-billion. Approximately half of that was attributed to claims in the insurance industry.
Insurance professionals pay a heavy toll in the event of this sort of episode, which is why a prominent member of that community has been critical of some of the choices that are being made during the rebuilding of homes in the region. Bill Adams, a vice president with the Insurance Bureau of Canada, spoke to the Conference Board of Canada and addressed the ways in which the process may represent a missed opportunity to minimize risk for future disasters.
"As they rebuild those homes, they're rebuilding them largely the same way they were, with the same materials that burned," said Adams. "There's not a lot of people who have a lot of extra money that they can invest now while they're rebuilding to make those improvements."
Adams went on to explain that the insurance industry isn't equipped to make the optimal changes either.
"Insurance, which is paying the bulk of the costs for rebuilding the community, only provides enough money to put you back in your pre-existing condition."
Fire-resilient upgrades come at a notable cost, perhaps requiring residents to give up other coveted home features that existed previously; and there is no guarantee that they would even hold up in a wildfire as bad as the one Fort McMurray experienced in 2016, which destroyed over 2,400 homes and structures in the area.
Hopefully we never have to find out if these rebuilt homes can withstand any kind of disaster.