How Am I Insured for a Wildfire?
Wildfires cause significant environmental and economic damage. If you live in a province or area prone to wildfires, does your home insurance cover wildfires?
Wildfire protection is typically included in your home insurance policy. If you are under evacuation order, standard home and tenant insurance policies provide additional living expense coverage, which starts the moment you are evacuated. So, you can start your claim right away.
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What’s covered when there’s a wildfire?
Home insurance generally includes two main types of coverage for wildfire damage:
Dwelling coverage
This protects the physical structure of your home if it’s damaged by a wildfire. It also includes your garage and other permanent structures.
If your home is damaged by a wildfire, your home insurance typically can help repair or rebuild your home. If you need to move out while your home is being repaired, your home insurance should cover additional living expenses for this as well. You should always review your policy for exclusions or limitations that could affect your wildfire coverage.
Personal property coverage
Personal property coverage protects your personal belongings, such as furniture, clothing, and electronics, in the event they are damaged or destroyed by a wildfire. Do you have a list and photos of your personal belongings and their value in case you need to submit a claim.
How are fire insurance rates determined?
When your insurer determines your home insurance premium, the risk of fire damage is one of the key factors they consider. In addition to whether you live in a high-risk area, insurance companies consider these factors when insuring a property:
- Is it protected, meaning your home is 300 m or less from a fire hydrant and close to a fire hall?
- Is it semi-protected, meaning there is a fire hall about 13 km away or closer but no nearby fire hydrant?
- Or is it unprotected, meaning the nearest fire hall is further than that and there are no fire hydrants?
If you live in an area at high risk for wildfires, such as near forests or grasslands, your insurance policy might include wildfire-specific exclusions or higher premiums. Policies vary between insurance providers.
Check your policy’s coverage limits to ensure they’re adequate to rebuild your home and replace your belongings if lost in a wildfire.
Build wildfire protection into your home insurance policy
Here are some additional steps you can take to ensure you're fully protected:
1. Add endorsements or riders to your policy
If you're in a high-risk area, consider adding an endorsement (or rider) to your policy to provide more comprehensive coverage for wildfires. These endorsements can increase your coverage limits or cover additional wildfire-related damages, such as smoke damage or debris removal.
2. Increase coverage limits
In some areas, rebuilding costs can sometimes exceed standard policy limits. You’ll want to make sure that your dwelling coverage limit is enough to rebuild your home in the event of a total loss. It’s usually possible to raise your limits or purchase additional coverage to ensure full protection.
3. Keep an inventory of your belongings
Creating a home inventory can help make the claims process much easier if you ever need to replace personal property lost in a wildfire.
Will my home insurance go up if I am affected by a wildfire?
Insurers will reassess risks and if an area is considered a high risk for wildfires, this typically leads to higher home insurance premiums for those living in those areas.
A single wildfire event may not immediately impact premiums, but the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires, along with other factors like inflation and supply chain issues, are causing a general increase in home insurance costs.
Steps to protect your home and belongings in case of fire
- Make a plan in the event that you’re forced to evacuate at a moment’s notice.
- Ensure that you have the right insurance coverage to help rebuild your life if a fire destroys your home.
- Clear away debris, shrubs, wood, or any other fuel sources surrounding your house.
- Use fire-resistant materials like asphalt, metal, slate, clay, stucco, or brick for roof construction and siding.
- Do not store propane or gas tanks or firewood piles under your deck or close to your home.
- Cut away large branches that overhang your roof.
- Clean roofs and gutters of dead leaves, debris and pine needles that could catch embers.
- Remove any dead branches and debris from under your deck.
- Water plants and trees, and mulch regularly.