Canada’s increasingly severe weather may have you wondering how best to protect your property from a wildfire. Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR), an organization that specializes in disaster prevention research, has identified the most impactful steps homeowners can take to withstand a possible wildfire.
ICLR and Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) have a long-standing partnership in helping to protect Canadians from natural hazards. Together, they’ve collaborated on this series of IN Focus articles, which share tips to help you protect your home and property from some of Canada’s most damaging weather.
Your “Better, best” guide to wildfire protection
Many Canadians live in areas that face a growing wildfire risk. Average annual insured catastrophic losses (i.e., events with total losses of $30 million or more) from wildfire in Canada have gone up significantly – from an annual average of $84 million between 2003 and 2014 to $706 million in the past decade. Fortunately, there are many steps homeowners can take to help protect themselves and their property from the destruction wildfires can cause. ICLR has identified two levels of risk mitigation: ‘better’ and ‘best’.
The “better, best” tiered approach presents the essential improvements needed to help homeowners know what to prioritize now. While homeowners should take every possible precaution to avoid wildfire damage, we recognize that time and budget constraints can present challenges. This tiered approach presents steps to help homeowners know what to prioritize.
Enhanced (better): Keep the embers away
Install a class-A fire-rated roof made with asphalt, metal, clay or composite rubber tiles.
Maintain a 1.5 metre non-combustible zone around your home, deck and other structures. This includes removing combustible fencing.
Maintain a well-watered lawn, and plant low-density, fire-resistant plants and/or deciduous trees or shrubs.
Clad your home with fibre cement, brick, stucco or other fire-resistant siding. Cover eaves and vents with 3 milli-metre screening to keep out sparks and embers.
Comprehensive (best): Build a fireproof fortress
Confirm that garages, sheds and other outbuildings have the same protections as your home.
Ensure that decks, balconies and porches are non-combustible or fire-rated and that areas underneath decks are clear of combustibles.
Use entry and garage doors that are fire-rated and windows that are tempered or multi-paned to provide resistance to heat from wildfires.
Ensure that fences and gates are non-combustible.
Use ICLR’s better/best wildfire home protection checklist, or go deeper with the “Protect Your Home from Wildfire” booklet.
Know what kind of wildfire damage your insurance covers
While the above measures can significantly reduce risk, it’s important to understand that no method can guarantee complete protection from wildfire. The good news is, most standard homeowner’s and tenant’s insurance policies cover damage caused by fire. They also include mass evacuation coverages to help with the cost of alternative accommodations and living expenses for people who are prohibited from returning home due to a mandatory evacuation order or because their home is unlivable as a result of insured damage.
Fire damage to vehicles is covered under optional comprehensive or all-perils coverage. Emergency management officials commonly move vehicles off roadways and streets during major incidents, for safety reasons. As long as you have comprehensive or all-perils coverage, you can make a claim for damage to your vehicle even if it is moved during the emergency response.
Your refrigerator, freezer and their contents may be covered for damage related to food spoilage caused by an accidental power interruption. In this situation, your freezer and its contents are typically insured for a specified amount.
Remember to check your insurance policies for details regarding your coverage, including limits.
How to start the claims process
If you’re forced from your home due to an evacuation order, call your insurance representative or insurer as soon as you can to find out what financial support is available. Discussing your options with your insurer does not mean you have to make a claim and will not impact your future insurance coverage.
Once the evacuation order is lifted and it is safe to return to your home, if your property has been damaged by wildfire, take the following steps:
Assess and document the damage, if safe to do so. Take photos and make a list of all damaged or destroyed items as best you can.
Keep damaged items unless they pose a health hazard.
If possible, assemble proofs of purchase, photos, receipts, owner’s manuals and warranties for damaged items.
Keep all receipts related to cleanup and for your living expenses while you were evacuated.
Additional tips and info
Visit the protecting your home from fire and wildfire page for additional tips and a video to help you mitigate risk and protect your most-valuable possessions.
To learn more about ICLR and how it works to better protect Canadians and build resilient communities, visit: https://www.iclr.org/.
