Wildfires are already burning in parts of western canada and with warnings of particularly active season Again this year, the country’s largest property and casualty insurer is testing a pilot project to help eligible Canadians protect their homes.
Intact Financial Corporation on Tuesday announced a partnership with Wildfire Defense Systems of Montana to provide loss prevention and suppression services to eligible Albertans and British Columbians when their homes are threatened. Forest fire At a distance of less than five kilometers.
If the fire gets that close to the home, trained firefighters will perform tasks such as removing materials around the property that could ignite the fire – such as firewood or propane tanks – and covering exterior vents and covering exterior windows and doors. to close. Crews can also install temporary sprinkler systems, which will potentially control nearby fire activity, but will also be fireproof if necessary to prevent further damage to the home.
Rosa Nelson, vice-president of sales and business development, Alberta and Prairies at Intact, told Global News that crews will be provided by Wildfire Defense Systems and will come from across the border, but stressed that they were not concerned about location because “Get together very, very quickly.”
Staff will also determine whether the threat has subsided, and put back items that were previously removed.
“This is really an opportunity for us to help tackle this climate change adaptation problem that we are all grappling with today,” Nelson told Global News.
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The pilot program is scheduled to run through the entire 2024 wildfire season.
Annabella Bonada, climate science director at the University of Waterloo’s Center for Climate Adaptation, said many of the actions are “FireSmart measures,” often taken by firefighters. This program can take some of the burden off their shoulders.
“If a company is going to go and do that themselves, it’s freeing up those firefighters to go and protect other infrastructure,” he said.
Intact Prestige and Intact Insurance home policy owners in BC and Alberta will have wildfire defense systems automatically added this season at no additional cost; However, this will also apply to those with BelairDirect policies. Nelson said customers will not see any increases in premiums.
That help may be needed as Canada has seen dozens of wildfires in the past month alone.
The BC Wildfire Service says there are currently 108 active wildfires, although only two per cent are considered out of control, while the province of Alberta says there are 38 active fires.
In early April, the federal government and Environment Canada warned them “Preparing for the worst” Early projections indicate above normal fire activity even in the spring months as a result of drought forecasts.
The warning comes after Canada’s worst weather on record last year, which burned 18.5 million hectares of land.
Intact calls the program the first of its kind in the country, although there are other similar companies Wawanesa Insurance Which provides grants to communities to become more climate-resilient.
Bonada said she would like to see more programs like Intacct become more widespread.
“Really dealing with any of these climate crises, but certainly wildfires, is a whole-of-society approach for us,” he said. “So everyone has to do their part.”
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