Vanessa Big Eagle, serving as a band councilor overseeing the residences of the Pheasant Rump Nakota First Nation, encountered severe weather that caused damage to her own property.
Reflecting on the impact, she noted, “We are accustomed to various types of extreme weather conditions, but the winds we experienced in May were exceptionally intense.”
The adverse weather conditions affected 23 out of 54 homes in her community located 160 kilometers southeast of Regina. Vanessa Big Eagle’s own house suffered the most damage as the strong winds blew off a significant portion of the roof.
She has been actively submitting insurance claims for the affected homes managed by the First Nation. Unfortunately, many of the residences are still in a damaged state, with one family even having to seek temporary accommodation in a hotel.
Contemplating the recurring nature of such events, Big Eagle pondered, “As we navigate year after year through these challenges, should we now anticipate them? Should we have factored them into our budget?”
Recent data indicates a surge in insured losses due to severe weather in Saskatchewan, potentially leading to increased insurance premiums.
According to Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc., Saskatchewan witnessed a record-high dollar amount of insured losses from significant weather events last year, totaling $450 million, the highest since the firm began collecting data in 2008.
The extreme winds in June resulted in the highest insured loss from a single event in the province, amounting to $240 million, followed by the northern wildfires from the previous summer.
Commenting on the unusual trend, Laura Twidle, the president and CEO of Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc., highlighted the exceptional losses observed in the past two years.
Twidle emphasized, “Fires are insurable, and the severity of last year was unprecedented. It marked the first time Saskatchewan witnessed such significant insured losses due to wildfires.”
Implications for Insurance Industry
Jason Thistlethwaite, a professor at the University of Waterloo’s School of Environment, Enterprise and Development, cautioned that even individuals with undamaged properties might be impacted.
“Insurers operate as businesses, aiming to recover their losses. This could lead to higher premiums and more restricted coverage,” he explained.
Thistlethwaite advocated for a shift towards preventing property damage preemptively rather than focusing solely on post-disaster recovery efforts.
“Our current approach to managing climate risks is proving to be increasingly costly. The policy challenge lies in transitioning from repeatedly covering the costs of disaster recovery to implementing measures that mitigate risks before calamities strike.”</p