UPDATE 2-Alberta wildfires Canada's costliest-ever natural disaster -report

(Adds comments from call, background on wildfire insurance,
analyst comment)
By Catherine Ngai
CALGARY, July 7 (Reuters) - Insured losses from the May
wildfires in Fort McMurray, Alberta, are expected to total
C$3.58 billion ($2.76 billion), making it the costliest-ever
Canadian natural disaster, an insurance industry group said on
Thursday.
The losses far exceed those from the Alberta floods of 2013,
which cost about C$1.7 billion in claims, the Insurance Bureau
of Canada (IBC) said in a report.
It noted that the biggest previous insurance loss from a
wildfire had been C$700 million from one in Slave Lake, Alberta,
in 2011.
The wildfires in the oil sands hub of Fort McMurray forced
the evacuation of some 90,000 residents, shuttered numerous oil
sands operations and cut Canada's crude output by more than 1
million barrels a day.
While most of the oil sands operations have returned to
normal rates, rebuilding efforts for thousands of homes in Fort
McMurray, along with the insurance payout, are expected to take
months or even years.
"In terms of a timeline, it really depends on how long the
rebuilding process takes," said Bill Adams, an IBC vice
president.
Adams added that in the Slave Lake wildfire, it took nearly
two years to rebuild some 400 homes destroyed. But Fort
McMurray, where more than 2,400 properties were destroyed,
represents an "unprecedented challenge."
A study compiled by Catastrophe Indices and Quantification
Inc said there were more than 27,000 personal property claims,
with the average claim of C$81,000.
The losses are not expected to change dramatically over
time.
Seven of the largest 10 Canadian natural disasters for
insurable losses occurred in Alberta, IBC said.
The Fort McMurray payout is expected to affect some of the
largest Canadian insurers. Intact Financial Corp IFC.TO ,
Canada's largest property and casualty insurer, said earlier
that it would suffer losses ranging from C$130 million and C$160
million.
"The larger impact might be on the reinsurance business,"
said Jaeme Gloyn, an analyst at the National Bank Financial.

($1 = 1.2986 Canadian dollars)