Ways P&C pros can help clients with climate resilience

It is possible to educate provincial and other government entities about ways overland water and wildfire effects people in hard-hit communities, says Julie Skelton, Executive Director, COO, Insurance Brokers Association of B.C. (IBABC).

“When you see devastation, you can teach how it happened. Sadly, B.C. has had enough devastation that we can now say, ‘This happened, and here’s what could have been done to prevent it.’ That risk mitigation is the most important opportunity for the industry to change what happens in the future,” she tells Canadian Underwriter in a recent interview.

“When government representatives and industry stakeholders see overland water or flooding events take out communities, and when the floods shut down major roadways and everybody’s felt an impact, that’s when you can educate people in this province about climate risk.”

She notes IBABC has collaborated with various B.C. government ministries to educate and influence them around insurance.

“There is opportunity when communities start to see the impact on their economy. Look at the loss of timber in B.C., in the millions of hectares burned. That’s a cost to an economy, to businesses, to communities, to livelihoods across this province,” she says. “And it’s a cost to fight these wildfires. If a building code change or investment in practices advocated by the national FireSmart program at the municipal level were able to prevent some of that, it’s the right thing for everyone to do.”

Building back better

Skelton says customers who’ve experienced total losses during a NatCat are changed by the event.

“They are someone who now says, ‘I never want to go through that again.’ They now understand if they have an option to do something to prevent it from happening again, they are amenable to doing that and understand why it needs to be done,” she tells CU.

She adds the B.C. Wildfire Service has examples of people who, post event, were given wildfire assessments and recommendations for improving their properties to prevent wildfires.

“They did the work and followed the practice. Their house survived the wildfire that hit their community. Anyone who has suffered a loss has gone through a life-changing, traumatic experience,” Skelton adds.

“And it’s there for brokers too. They live and work in these communities, and they’ve watched their families and friends and clients go through this, and it takes an emotional toll.”

Other perils

Brokers in B.C. also have a role to play in helping clients understand the scope of the Disaster Financial Assistance (DFA) program. DFA applies to only one of the three prominent perils, overland water (OLW) or flood.

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“It is not there for wildfire or earthquake because these are considered insurable losses,” Skelton stresses. “Brokers need to explain to clients that if they were able to buy OLW or flood and did not, they are not eligible for the disaster financial assistance program. And that the DFA program is not insurance; it’s to provide basic support up to a maximum of $400,000 for the total damage.”

She adds brokers play a vital role in educating clients around what constitutes OLW (residential) and flood (commercial), and what is covered. “We are actively working with government on the DFA program, education and understanding for consumers and brokers,” she tells CU. “Most people think of flood as coming from a river or body of water. They do not think about torrential rain. Torrential rain is becoming a major part of these losses…”.

This article is excerpted from one that appeared in the August-September, 2025 print edition of Canadian Underwriter.

Phil Porado

Phil, an award-winning journalist with over 30 years of experience in financial topics, has been managing editor of Canadian Underwriter for more than three years.