CatIQ raises Jasper, Canada wildfire insured loss estimate to C$1.23bn

Insurance industry losses from the wildfires that impacted the Municipality of Jasper and Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada between July 22nd and August 17th 2024, is estimated to have reached CAD $1.23 billion, according to CatIQ, Canada’s insured loss and exposure indices provider.

This marks CatIQ’s fourth loss estimate from the event, and compares to its third loss estimate of $1.05 billion, which was issued 90 days following the event.

We also covered CatIQ’s first loss estimate from the wildfires in August 2024, where losses had surpassed $880 million.

Moreover, CatIQ confirmed that its latest loss estimate covers property (both commercial and residential) and vehicle (motor) claims, with commercial changes leading to the increase between estimates.

The Jasper wildfire is the second most expensive wildfire on record in Alberta’s history in terms of insured losses.

“On 22 July 2024, Parks Canada announced they were responding to multiple new fire starts in Jasper National Park. Two fires, burning south and northeast of the Jasper townsite, were of particular concern given their proximity to the community and the very dry, windy conditions, prompting officials to issue evacuation orders for all of Jasper. Driven by strong southerly winds, the South Fire reached the Jasper townsite by the evening of 24 July and damaged or destroyed 358 of the town’s 1,113 structures,” CatIQ commented.

CatIQ has confirmed that a fifth update of the market loss from the Jasper wildfire will be made available on July 22nd, 2025, twelve months after the event start date.

“The Jasper wildfire is the second costliest wildfire on record for Canada, behind the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire which, at the time, generated insured losses of CAD 3.64 billion and 33,000 personal property claims. Though the Jasper event resulted in only about 1,700 personal property claims, the sums are much larger – on average more than four times the amount of the claims from Fort McMurray,” commented Laura Twidle, President and CEO of CatIQ.

She added: “This underscores the reality that a fire does not need a massive footprint to cause significant losses. The wildfire caused significant damage to the Jasper townsite and the surrounding area, forcing thousands of people from their homes for nearly a month, with many properties destroyed. The Jasper wildfire has had a devastating impact on the communities affected and through the data CatIQ and PERILS provide to insurers and other stakeholders our goal is to help mitigate similar losses in the future.”

Insured catastrophe losses in Canada reached $8.5 billion for full-year 2024, which became the largest loss year for the country on record, exceeding the previous record of CAN $6.2 billion recorded in 2016.