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Rising Wildfire Risk Fuels Stress in B.C. Home Insurance Industry

The 2024 wildfire season left Hannah Rolston, insurance broker and Kootenay Insurance branch manager, facing one of her most stressful experiences as brokers received upsetting calls from evacuees in Slocan Valley and Argenta, including one who lost house and business in a day.
According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, insured damage from the 2024 wildfire season exceeded $8 billion, nearly triple 2023 losses and about 12 times the 2001–2010 average.
The industry has responded with higher premiums and coverage limits, with the Insurance Bureau of Canada reporting a 5.8 per cent rise in home insurance premiums in 2025 and most insurance companies refusing coverage within 50 kilometres of active wildfires.
Policyholders are facing immediate consequences as not all homeowners and policyholders in British Columbia accept premium hikes, and insurance brokers and agents advise in-person transactions and independent counsel because some public emergency services withhold cash if policies already cover losses.
Adam Sutherland, IBC spokesperson, cautioned that California's wildfire risk is "a warning sign" for Canada, urging government and resident incentives alongside local rules like Nelson's 2019 bylaws to reduce fire danger.

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