Brokers shed light on dire situation residents face when trying to insure homes: 'We know the risk is only going to grow'

Insurance brokers recalled their harrowing experience during the 2024 wildfire season in Canada, demonstrating the need to fireproof communities to protect buildings and lives. 

What's happening?

Insurance brokers in British Columbia, Canada, recounted their stressful experiences during the 2024 season and warned that things are only going to get worse. 

Speaking to Rossland News, Hannah Rolston, an insurance broker in the West Kootenay region of the province, recalled people turning up at the office with nowhere to go and just a few belongings in a garbage bag. Others had seen their entire lives destroyed in front of their eyes, including homes and businesses gone in just one day.

She went on to add that while a house that is insured against fire is covered for wildfire damage, many people don't know how this works during wildfire season in BC.

A source of stress for the agents and brokers is that most insurance companies won't provide home insurance if there is an active wildfire within approximately 31 miles. This means that during most wildfire seasons, many people are unable to get insurance, leaving them prone to the risk of losing everything. 

Why is this issue important?

The burning of dirty energy sources to fuel our lifestyles creates planet-warming pollution that is warming the Earth and leading to more extreme weather events. Wildfire season is getting worse every year because human-induced changes to the climate produce drier, warmer conditions in fire-prone areas, causing the fires to spread more rapidly and over larger distances. 

The increased risk of extreme weather events is causing insurance companies to drop coverage in highly at-risk areas because it is costing them too much. This is leaving a lot of people uninsured and at risk of losing their properties and businesses if the worst should happen. 

In 2024, the Insurance Bureau of Canada reported that extreme weather events caused more than $8 billion in insured damage nationwide, which far surpassed the previous record of $6 billion in 2016, per Rossland News. 

What's being done about protecting people from extreme weather?

Making communities more resilient to extreme weather events is critical if we are to protect people from the damaging impacts of these events and save lives.

Nature has a critical role to play in helping communities fight back against climate change and the shift in weather patterns it is causing. For example, using fire-proof materials made from mushrooms in construction could help protect buildings from wildfires, while installing rain gardens could help limit the damage caused by floods.

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The insurance bureau spokesperson Adam Sutherland says we need to do more to protect communities against the risk of fire and prevent people from losing everything they own. 

According to Rossland News, Sutherland said, "We know the risk is only going to grow. Insurance puts a price on risk. That's why it's paramount that we do much, much more as a society to reduce that, to better fireproof our communities and better protect our homes."

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