Intact says $570m Q3 wildfire & weather losses won’t trigger reinsurance

Canadian property and casualty insurer, Intact Financial Corporation, has continued to experience heavy catastrophe losses from wildfires and severe weather in the third-quarter, already announcing a CA $570 million toll, while also saying that these won’t trigger any reinsurance recoveries for the company.

Intact had reported pre-tax catastrophe losses of an estimated CA $421 million, net of reinsurance, for the second quarter of 2023, with the main driver being the record-setting series of wildfires in Canada.

The wildfire activity in Canada has continued and worsened in some areas, which has resulted in a second costly quarter for the company.

Intact said that the ongoing wildfires in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories, as well as other weather events, are expected to drive some $570 million of estimated pre-tax catastrophe losses for Q3 2023 so far.

The estimate is based on a number of events in July and August and Intact warned the figure for Q3 will likely rise.

However, the insurer also noted that none of the events occurring in Q3 so far have met the threshold for reinsurance recoveries under its catastrophe reinsurance treaties.

The wildfire activity in Canada has become increasingly costly as the outbreak has persisted, with significant fires still burning across numerous areas at this time and records set in terms of area burned this year so far.

Consumers are expecting property insurance prices to rise, given the costly losses suffered by the insurance industry from wildfires this year, while there remains some uncertainty over how additional living expense claims will add to the total industry impact, given the significant numbers evacuated from some wildfire zones.