British Columbia Faces Record-Breaking $720 Million in Losses from 2023 Wildfires, Marking Costliest Insured Event in History, Reveals Report

Fires Dominate Insurance Bureau of Canada’s List of Severe Weather Events in Okanagan and Shuswap Regions.

Two wildfires in the southern interior of British Columbia resulted in insured losses exceeding $720 million last year, establishing them as the province’s most expensive extreme weather events ever, as outlined in a recent report.

The McDougall Creek wildfire in the Okanagan and the Bush Creek East fire in the Shuswap region, when considered collectively, rank as the 10th most costly natural disasters for insurance payouts in Canada, as per the Insurance Bureau of Canada’s (IBC) 2023 annual report.

According to the IBC report, natural catastrophes resulted in over $3.1 billion in insured damage across Canada, marking the fourth most expensive year on record.

Despite the destructive wildfires in B.C. accounting for the highest insured damage from any extreme weather event in Canada in the past year, the list of 2023’s most expensive weather events encompasses a range of incidents, from ice storms to flooding:

1. Okanagan and Shuswap area wildfires, Aug. 15–Sept. 25: $720 million.
2. Severe summer storms in Ontario, July 20–Aug. 25: $340 million.
3. Spring ice storm in Ontario and Quebec, April 5–6: $330 million.
4. Summer storms in the Prairies, June 18–July 26: $300 million.
5. Nova Scotia flooding, July 23: $170 million.
6. Tantallon, Nova Scotia, wildfire, May 28–June 4: $165 million.
7. Winnipeg hailstorm, Aug. 24: $140 million.
8. Atlantic Canada cold snap, Feb. 3–5: $120 million.
9. Behchokǫ̀-Yellowknife and Hay River, NWT, wildfires, Aug. 13–Sept. 16: $60 million.

The report highlights that while wildfires posed significant destruction this year, the increasing losses attributed to flooding have elevated Canada’s perception as a riskier location for insurance. According to the IBC, this results in over 1.5 million high-risk households being unable to secure affordable flood insurance.

Commenting on the report, scientists at the Canadian Climate Institute emphasized that the substantial expenses associated with extreme weather events and climate change extend far beyond the realm of insured losses.The Canadian Climate Institute has approximated the health expenses incurred during a single week of wildfire smoke in Ontario last spring to be nearly $1.3 billion. Additionally, the institute highlights that extreme weather events can result in increased costs for Canadians, stemming from supply chain disruptions, heightened home insurance premiums, and tax increases aimed at covering recovery efforts.