White Rock Lake wildfire caused an estimated $77 million in insured damage

• 800 claims, nearly all residential
• Some have claimed 'well into the hundreds-of-thousands of dollars'

The damage caused by the White Rock Lake wildfire this summer is expected to have a price tag of at least $77 million.

The insured damage estimate was calculated by Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc., as over 800 claims are expected from this fire, virtually all of which were related to residential properties with a handful associated with commercial properties.

Insurance Bureau of Canada’s (IBC) Director of Consumer and Industry Relations, Rob de Pruis, told Vernon Matters that these claims are related to additional living expenses; covering hotel costs while under evacuation or after losing a home; damage to properties, including primary residences, seasonal dwellings and commercial buildings; and the cleanup of fire suppressants.

He said while the total cost is roughly estimated at $77 million, not all those claims will be equal.

“It’s difficult to provide an average [payout amount] because there are some homes that will be total lost homes that are well into the hundreds-of-thousands of dollars, and there’s other homes that might have smoke damage that would be in the tens-of-thousands of dollars. So there really is a variant between the extent of the damages in the different areas,” said de Pruis.

“We also have to remember that this wildfire covered and spanned a pretty large area, and there was many communities within the White Rock Lake wildfire complex that were impacted by the wildfire.”

IBC is a national association representing private insurance providers, but does not include government run insurance such as ICBC, so these claims do not include any vehicles lost in the blaze.

De Pruis also told Vernon Matters that, because the evacuation order was lifted just a short while ago, the calculation right now is just preliminary, and further assessments are needed in order to have a full scope on the extent of the damage.

“So if you’re able to go back home and you do recognize that there is damage, make sure you contact your claims adjuster right away to start that process and get more details and information for the next steps in the claims process.”

De Pruis said it will could take up to a few months to come up with the final costs associated with the fire as it’s all dependent on the extent of damages.

“Some properties may need engineers and may need other experts to help determine the extent and repairability, and it also takes some time to develop some of the quotes for replacing some of these total lost properties, and this does take some time.

He added that this fire will likely not affect people’s premiums going forward, and that insurers want to help people recover what they have lost.

“If people do have insurance questions, IBC does have a Consumer Information Centre that we can help answer any question that they have. We can be reached at 1-844-2ASK-IBC (1-844-227-5422). We also have a whole bunch of resources related to wildfire on our web page at ibc.ca,” said de Pruis.

As the figures are preliminary at this time, IBC did not have any specifics on the number of properties affected by the White Rock Lake wildfire.

De Pruis did say that the other big fire this summer, the Lytton wildfire, had an estimated cost of $78-million, meaning just two of the fires in B.C. this summer caused over $155-million in damage.

IBC also notes that wildfires have devastated British Columbia this summer, creating a “tragic reminder of the increased risk facing communities across the province, and country from a changing climate.”

IBC said as the climate changes, the frequency and severity of weather events are likely to increase, as will the financial costs borne by insurers and tax payers.

The national insurance industry association states that governments must do more to build resilience and better protect families and communities from these events, such as by creating a high-risk flood insurance pool to address climate-related disasters.

IBC also says there needs to be increase collaboration between the public and private sectors to help defend Canadians from these events.

Liam Verster/Vernon Matters