B.C. insurance exec concerned by damage claims in L.A. wildfires

As wildfires continue to devastate parts of Los Angeles, the financial toll is expected to soar, with insured losses projected to be in the tens of billions of dollars. 

The catastrophic event has left many homeowners in Southern California grappling with the uncertainty of rebuilding, while also questioning the future of insurance coverage in the region.

Grant Alsop, an account executive at Vancouver’s Axis Insurance, is monitoring the situation and advises British Columbians to do the same.

“Here in British Columbia, we’ve got issues anticipated for the next year such as floods, forest fires and wind storms. If you’re living in an area prone to any of these, you should be with your insurance broker to see if there’s going to be issues in the next coming year, or even estimates for the next five years,” Alsop told 1130 NewsRadio.

While B.C.’s situation may not be as severe as California’s, Alsop says homeowners should still be contacting their insurance provider to check for any potential changes in coverage.

“I think insurance is sometimes taken for granted. We’ve seen areas prone to flooding and forest fires where policy coverages have changed, mostly in the form of increased deductibles and ratings. In extreme cases, there’s difficulty getting any coverage.”

As the financial impact of the Los Angeles wildfires continues to unfold, Alsop also notes that the global trend of insurance claims from weather-related events is concerning.

“To put the wildfires in Los Angeles in perspective, the estimates I saw Monday morning were $30 billion in insured damage. In Canada alone, the total last year was over $7.5 billion in insured weather related claims. Worldwide, it was around $140 billion. So, we’re only in January right now, and we’re already seeing a large, catastrophic event.”

A report from Rates.ca reveals that severe weather events in 2024 caused over $7.8 billion in insured damage — more than double the Insurance Bureau of Canada’s 2023 figures. 

As a result, Rates.ca predicts that homeowners may face higher premiums when renewing their policies in 2025, even without making any claims.

—With files from Mike Lloyd