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B.C.'s record wildfires drove $611M in losses for insurer Intact Financial in Q2

Intact says more than 90 per cent of the losses in its Canadian segment were driven by 14 severe weather events
wildfirekelownacreditcontributed-castanet
Wildfire rage outside Kelowna over the summer. Intact Financial Corp. estimates its catastrophe losses for the second quarter were approximately $611 million on a pre-tax basis. | Contributed/Castanet

Intact Financial Corp. estimates its catastrophe losses for the second quarter were approximately $611 million on a pre-tax basis.

The property and casualty insurer says in a news release that the losses amounted to $2.56 per share after tax.

Intact says more than 90 per cent of the losses in its Canadian segment were driven by 14 severe weather events, including floods and hailstorms in multiple provinces.

It says around a third of the losses were attributable to the wildfires in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. 

A record number of square kilometres were burned in British Columbia this year, as well as in the Northwest Territories. 

The territory saw almost 70 per cent of its population displaced during the fire season, including a three-week evacuation order for the capital of Yellowknife. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 12, 2023.

The Canadian Press