The August wildfires were the largest of the 11 events that resulted in the Canadian insurer’s reaching its catastrophe loss threshold.
More than 30,000 households in BC were ordered to evacuate as around 400 wildfires burned in the region after two fires in the Shuswap region merged, destroying housing blocks and other buildings.
Other notable events included severe wind and rainstorms, which led to flooding in Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia, tornados in Ontario and Quebec, and several hail events across the country.
Losses will also “negatively impact” Definity’s operating income by C$122mn ($88.8mn).
The impact on operating income is net of reinsurance recoveries and inclusive of reinstatement premiums, the Canadian property and casualty insurer said.
Personal auto cat losses were estimated to be C$8mn in the third quarter, with commercial insurance cat losses of C$10mn and personal property cat losses C$104mn.
Canada is experiencing one of its worst years for wildfires, according to data from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.
There have been 6,515 fires year to date, with around 18.8 million hectares of area burned.
Last year, there were 3,827 wildfires with 1.2 million hectares burned, while the 10-year average is for 4,850 wildfires and 2.3 million hectares burned.
