The wildfire that destroyed nearly a third of the Jasper townsite last summer is estimated to have caused $1.23 billion in insured damages.
Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ), which provided the estimate, stated the disaster is the second costliest fire event in Canadian history, behind only the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire that generated insured losses of $3.64 billion and 33,000 personal property claims.
“Though the Jasper event resulted in only about 1,700 personal property claims, the sums are much larger – on average more than four times the amount of the claims from Fort McMurray,” said Laura Twidle, President and CEO of CatIQ, in a statement. “This underscores the reality that a fire does not need a massive footprint to cause significant losses.”
The Jasper wildfire damaged or destroyed 358 of the town’s 1,113 structures. While other recent wildfires have affected larger population centres, Jasper’s property damage was more extensive, with commercial line losses making up more than half of the incurred losses.
In an email, Twidle explained participating insurance companies supply their catastrophe claims data to CatIQ, which extrapolates the data to the industry level to produce the loss estimate.
Initially, the Jasper wildfire was estimated to have cost $880 million. A third loss estimate issued 90 days following the event pegged it at $1.05 billion. The fourth and most recent estimate of $1.23 billion comes six months post-disaster.
“As claims are assessed and settled, this may result in changes to the initial reserve that the insurer had set up for the claim,” Twidle said.
The loss number covers commercial and residential property and motor vehicle claims, with commercial changes leading to the increase between estimates. The estimate also includes additional living expenses and business interruption losses.
Updated estimates will be released at the first and second anniversary.
“By providing catastrophic damage data, this will create a better understanding for policymakers, insurers as to the impact of the event,” Twidle said. “The data can then be used for many different use cases, such as cost-benefit analyses to installing mitigative measures to prevent future impacts.”
Alongside this new estimate, the Insurance Bureau of Canada provided a six-month update on rebuilding efforts. It reported more than 90 per cent of destroyed properties have gotten a demotion permit from Parks Canada.
Over 60 residential properties and most commercial sites have been cleared. Following final testing and sign-off from Parks Canada, owners can apply for reconstruction permits.
Insurers expect to have nearly all debris removed for residential properties by May 1. The reconstruction timeline will depend on how quickly the approval and permitting process goes.
“There’s still a lot of work to do and rebuilding will take time, but there is light at the end of a very long tunnel for Jasper residents who lost so much in the fire,” said Aaron Sutherland, vice president for IBC’s western region. “The people of Jasper have shown tremendous resilience, and Alberta’s insurers will continue to match that spirit and support their customers every step of the way. It’s why they are here.”
With 228,000 insurance claims and over $8 billion in insured damage, last summer was the most expensive on record in Canada for catastrophic weather events.
IBC warned these events were placing pressure on insurance premiums throughout Canada and called for measures such as no longer building in high-risk areas as well as investing in FireSmart initiatives for wildfire zones and enhancing Canada’s flood defences in flood-prone areas.
