Wildfires are on the rise in Canada. In the first half of 2023, there have been more than 1,800 fires that have burned 2.8 million hectares of land. When fires happen, they can tear through neighbourhoods in minutes, causing massive devastation and leaving people waiting days or weeks to learn if their home has been destroyed or spared.
When you’re ordered to evacuate, the last thing you want to worry about is your vehicles, which could mean cars, trucks, and even ATVs and other powersports equipment. We spoke to the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) to find out what you need to know about car insurance and wildfires before, during, and after a major fire and evacuation.
We spoke with Gloria Haydock, IBC manager of consumer and industry relations for the Atlantic region while she was at one of the City of Halifax’s comfort centres, where IBC staff are working to help people affected by the then-active fires in that city.
Is My Vehicle Covered?
“From an insurance perspective, fire is fire,” Haydock said. Unlike home insurance where what caused a peril can be complicated, auto coverage keeps it simple. It doesn’t matter if the fire spread from a home, from an electrical problem, or from a wildfire.
Liability and medical accident benefits, Haydock said, are part of the mandatory coverage that nearly every vehicle on the road has. If you have only the basics, though, then you’re not covered for a fire.
There are three other usual choices for insurance, Haydock explained, comprehensive, all perils, and named perils. Fire is included in all three, she said, so unless someone has purchased exclusively collision coverage, the vehicle is insured for fire.
This applies to all of your motor vehicles, including cars and trucks as well as motorcycles and ATVs. The upside, especially if you’ve had to leave more than one vehicle at home, is that there is no deductible for a vehicle claim due to fire.
What If I Was Parked Indoors?
Does it matter where your vehicle is parked? If it is in my garage and my garage burns first, will it be covered under home insurance? No, Haydock said. Motor vehicles are specifically excluded from home insurance. This is why most vehicles parked for storage still have fire and theft coverage added.
Insurance coverage gets more complicated when it comes to what’s in your car. Auto insurance covers your auto, but it doesn’t cover any possessions that are inside, Haydock said. If it’s not part of your vehicle’s equipment, it falls under your home or tenant insurance policy.
How Long Will My Claim Take?
With a disaster like a wildfire, insurers expect that there will be a large volume of claims and many customers looking for help, so they send extra adjusters to the area to be ready.
“I was actually talking to a couple of auto appraisers who had arrived on scene,” Haydoch said. “And like property adjusters and property appraisers, they are just waiting for the OK from authorities to go ahead in and start helping to assess the damages and move towards the recovery aspect.”
“So also know that there have been a couple of member insurers who have brought in out-of-province adjusters, specifically for automobile as well as property. What they’re doing is just confirming, looking at the vehicle, taking a picture of it, and then starting their assessments,” she said.
What If I’m Evacuated?
As we spoke, more than 14,000 Nova Scotians were under an evacuation order, but Haydock said that they don’t all need to wait to return home to start receiving insurance benefits.
Loss of use coverage, the bit of insurance that gives you a rental while you wait for repairs or to purchase a replacement vehicle, still applies. If you’re forced to leave a vehicle at home because of an evacuation, you may be able to use that coverage right away, Haydock said, even if your vehicle is untouched by the fire.
There are limits, though, on how much coverage you have under this portion of your insurance. There is usually a dollar value limit, so it may not take long to use up. And with today’s car market, where ordering a new vehicle can take months, you may not have enough coverage to last the full wait.
Haydock suggests that insurers may be more flexible about helping you make the most of this coverage than you might expect. She suggests talking with your adjuster about ways to stretch out your coverage.
“For example,” Haydock asked, “do you need a rental seven days a week?” She added that some may not need a rental at all. She said that taxi or ride-hailing expenses can be reimbursed under this coverage. And that short-term vehicle rentals can be arranged. One day a week, for example, so you can take care of important errands and tasks.
What Information Do I Need?
I asked if owners should grab photos of their vehicle or their odometer reading as they got ready for an evacuation and Haydock chuckled. “Quite frankly, that’s the last thing that should be on their minds,” she said. “I just say ‘who cares?’”
Not just because evacuation and your safety are more important than your car, but because it’s easy to find your car’s important details later. Your insurer already knows exactly the make, model, year, and trim grade. If they need an odometer reading, you can get a close enough estimate from the records of your last oil change or other service.
Know Your Vehicle’s Value
Haydock suggests knowing what your car or truck is worth to help your loss claim, using marketplaces like AutoTrader to check for similar vehicles. Most owners aren’t familiar with the current car market, which has seen the values of used vehicles skyrocket since 2020, so they could be missing out.
One last thing to note is that if you’re looking to change your coverage during a fire, you’re probably going to find that tough. Insurers often stop the sale of new policies or halt changes to policies within a certain distance of a disaster situation until the danger has passed.
If you already were waiting to take delivery of a new or new-to-you vehicle, this could stop your deal from going through. We suggest explaining the specific situation to your insurer as well as the seller of your new vehicle. Most dealers would be happy to delay your purchase in a situation like this, and they’re likely experiencing the same situation.
