Burning cash: Sask. insurance agencies dealing with glut of wildfire insurance claims

As wildfires continue to tear through northern Saskatchewan, insurance companies are starting to feel the heat.

Insurance companies expect the fire season to run April to September. But while they often affect less-populated areas farther north, this year that has not entirely been the case, said Emily Proulx, branch manager for Hub International in Prince Albert.  

Proulx said she has noticed an uptick in claims made across the province from areas like Denare Beach, La Ronge and Flin Flon.

While most people tend to purchase coverage for their homes, not everyone understands the full scope of it, especially when it comes to emergency situations.

Many insurance companies have a moratorium during certain seasons, including wildfire season, when coverage cannot be changed or increased, Proulx said. She said fire insurance cannot be added if a fire is already burning within a certain distance of a property or there is a "threat."

Proulx used Candle Lake as an example.

"There's a fire burning within that 50 kilometres or whatever," she said. "There's no negotiation with the insurance company to say, 'Can you add coverage?' The answer is flat out 'no.'"

Craig Stewart, vice-president of climate change and federal issues for the Insurance Bureau of Canada, said the priority is "making sure that our customers are prepared and that the people that need insurance can still get it and that the insurance coverages are what people need."

"Most people expect it never to happen to them, so it's very important to be prepared in case it does," Stewart said.

That includes taking photographs and inventory of what's in your home and identifying what is most valuable.

"If you get to the point where you need to unfortunately evacuate, file a claim … sometimes you can't get back to your home to be able to demonstrate what was there," Stewart said.

He said most people who have "full replacement value" in their policy can have their homes rebuilt. 

Since May, there have been close to 700 wildfire-related claims made to SGI Canada involving mass evacuation claims, total loss of house, cabin fires or houses with fire damage that are still standing.

SGI Canada said its auto fund has also received more than 300 claims, with most being a total loss.