Latest delay in Jasper’s rebuild has insurers calling for a disaster recovery agency

Federal soil remediation and recovery requirements are the latest challenge in the process to rebuild Jasper, Alta., one year after a wildfire burned down a third of the town, causing an estimated $1.2 billion in insured damage. And the latest delay has insurers calling for a new dedicated federal agency to coordinate disaster recovery efforts after NatCats.

Almost three months after completing the debris removal stage in late April, in which insurers helped prepare the site for a rebuild, Insurance Bureau of Canada notes that as of July 7, only 56 of the 358 destroyed properties in Jasper have received the necessary permits and approvals to proceed with the rebuilding process.

In contrast, when the town of Fort McMurray burned down after a wildfire in 2016, causing an estimated $3.6 billion in damages at the time, rebuilding was already happening before the one-year anniversary date of the wildfire, IBC says.

The process in Jasper has been slow in part due to the fire happening in a National Park, which has required the federal government to work with provincial and municipal governments to coordinate the recovery effort.

It also means federal soil remediation and recovery requirements were imposed following the fire.

“These additional steps have added time, complexity, and overall cost to the rebuilding effort, costs [that] are not typically covered under standard property insurance policies,” IBC says. “IBC has worked constructively with the federal government, including Parks Canada, on these issues and the federal government has committed that it will support the leaseholders by covering the extra remediation costs required to meet federal remediation standards.

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“The [federal] government has further committed to an expedited process to ensure that the rebuilding process is not delayed further by soil remediation issues.”

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Looking forward, insurers would like to see a dedicated federal agency responsible for emergency management after natural catastrophes.

“Delays that prolong the rebuilding process, like we are seeing in Jasper, are occurring more frequently in Canada after large catastrophic events,” added Craig Stewart, IBC’s vice president of climate change and federal issues. “Canada needs a federal coordinating agency to guide emergency preparedness and recovery so that Parks Canada, and other jurisdictions, don’t have to create unique playbooks after each catastrophic event.

“Every other G7 country has an agency operating in this capacity. It’s time for Canada to follow suit and take on a proactive approach to emergency management.”

Delays in Jasper’s rebuilding process have insurers concerned that people will exhaust the additional living expenses limits in their home insurance policies. Plus, businesses run the risk of exhausting their business interruption coverage.

“It is recommended that policyholders speak with their insurance representative to understand what coverage remains available given these unanticipated delays,” IBC says.

To help prepare for the soil remediation stage, IBC says insurers coordinated and paid for a bulk appliance collection and disposal program of contaminated refrigerators and freezers. In addition, they hired a contractor to remove debris from the damaged properties.

David Gambrill

David has twice served as Canadian Underwriter’s senior editor, both from 2005 to 2012, and again from 2017 to the present.