Out-of-control wildfires across British Columbia have destroyed hundreds of homes, forced approximately 8,000 residents under evacuation orders, and placed a further 7,100 on evacuation alert as of August 4, with BC Wildfire Service officials describing conditions as "explosive and extremely dangerous," according to CBC News. Hot temperatures and dry lightning forecast for later this week are raising concerns the situation could worsen before it improves.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada has activated its Virtual Community Assistance Mobile Pavilion (V-CAMP) helpline and issued guidance for affected policyholders, urging residents to contact their insurance representative as soon as they are safely able to begin the claims process.
As of Wednesday morning, the BC Wildfire Service reported approximately 115 active wildfires across the province, with more than 50 considered out of control and five designated Wildfires of Note, according to IBC citing the BC Wildfire Service dashboard. The headline fire is the Bradley Creek wildfire burning west of Vernon near the northern end of Okanagan Lake, which has grown to 28.5 square kilometres and prompted the Regional District of North Okanagan to expand its evacuation order on August 4, according to CBC News. Properties have been damaged on approximately 120 lots near Clinton, and the Okanagan Indian Band reserve at Head of the Lake has been under evacuation order.
"Our hearts go out to the individuals and families whose lives have been disrupted by these fires," said Aaron Sutherland, Vice-President, Pacific and Western, IBC. "We applaud all the first responders who have been working tirelessly to protect the affected communities. Rest assured that anyone whose property was damaged or destroyed can contact their insurance representative when they are ready to start the claims process."
The 2026 wildfire season is arriving against a backdrop of record-setting catastrophe loss years in Canada. Insured damage from severe weather in Canada reached CA$8.5 billion in 2024 - the highest on record and more than double the CA$3.7 billion recorded in 2023 - with wildfire a primary driver, according to Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ), as reported by IBC. The previous record of CA$6 billion had been set in 2016, following the Fort McMurray wildfires. Final insured loss figures for 2025 are not yet published, but the trajectory underscores the structural shift in catastrophe risk facing Canadian P&C insurers and their clients.
For property underwriters and their broker partners, the concentration of residential and agricultural exposure in BC's Interior - the Okanagan, the Thompson, and the corridors between them - represents a portfolio risk that has grown materially as population density and property values in these areas have risen. Average detached home prices in the Central Okanagan reached CA$1.15 million in May 2025, up 9% year on year, according to RE/MAX market data - placing the region among the most expensive residential markets outside of Vancouver and Victoria, and concentrating substantial insured value directly in the wildfire interface zone. For many affected policyholders, a total loss represents a claim in the seven figures.
Brokers with clients in evacuated or alert zones should be proactively reaching out rather than waiting for claims to arrive. The most time-sensitive conversation is around additional living expenses. Standard homeowner and tenant insurance policies generally include ALE coverage when a civil or provincial authority has issued an evacuation order, covering reasonable hotel costs, meals, and other displacement expenses for a specified period. Amounts and entitlement periods vary by policy - clients who do not know what their policy provides are the ones most likely to incur unreimbursable costs. Brokers who make that call now can prevent those gaps from widening.
On the claims process: policyholders should contact their insurer as soon as possible - most carry 24-hour claims lines - and should document all damage with photographs when safe to return, list damaged or destroyed items, and retain those items unless they pose a health hazard. Brokers can helpfully brief clients on this sequencing before they return to their properties, reducing the risk of inadvertent steps that complicate claims.
Seasonal and secondary residences are a specific area of exposure in the BC Interior, where recreational property ownership is widespread. Policies for cottages, cabins, and secondary properties frequently carry different coverage limits or reporting requirements than primary home policies. IBC is specifically advising policyholders to check any secondary properties as soon as it is safe to do so and report damage promptly - a message brokers serving the recreational property market in the Okanagan and Thompson regions should be reinforcing directly with their clients.
Home insurance covers fire damage even where the fire originated on a neighbouring property, provided it was not started intentionally by the policyholder. Coverage does vary by insurer and policy wording, and IBC is recommending policyholders review their policy and speak directly with their insurance representative to confirm specific coverage.
IBC's V-CAMP helpline is available at 1-844-2ask-IBC (1-844-227-5422) or [email protected] for general insurance questions. Further information is available at IBC's Wildfires and Insurance webpage.
The 2026 wildfire season is still far from over. With dangerous fire weather forecast and the season's most active weeks typically running through August, the final insured loss figure for this event alone - let alone the full season - will not be known for months. What the current trajectory already makes clear is that the structural underwriting challenge the IBC has been flagging for several years, centred on the accelerating concentration of insured value in climate-exposed geographies, is not a future problem. It is happening now.
