Nova Scotia wildfire and flooding caused $490 million in insured loses

July 25, 2024, Nova Scotia — A report from the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) estimates that one year after consecutive wildfires and flooding in Nova Scotia the total insured losses now stand at $490 million.

Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ), who provided the estimate, reported that more that 88 per cent of the claims related to the Tantallon wildfire and 90 per cent of the claims related to the July 2023 river flood have been resolved.

A scarcity of skilled labour, shortage of building materials, and a lack of adjuster capacity represented significant hurdles in the claims process, the bureau stated in a press release.

“The purpose of this report is to identify lessons learned – including opportunities for improvement – to help inform the industry’s response to future catastrophic loss events, not only in Nova Scotia, but across Canada,” said Amanda Dean, IBC vice-president of Ontario and Atlantic, in a media statement.

“We now live in a world in which large-loss insurance events should be expected almost annually,” she added.

The wildfire forced over 16,000 people to evacuate their homes and destroyed or damaged at least 200 properties, including 150 homes, according to the report.

Read the full report here.