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The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) has highlighted the immense financial toll of recent extreme weather events across the country. From wildfires to hailstorms and hurricanes, these natural disasters have wreaked havoc—resulting in billions of dollars in insurance claims and escalating premiums for homeowners.
Craig Stewart from the IBC told CTV’s Your Morning on Tuesday that the current trend shows no relief in sight for insurance rates. “Canada seems to be prone to everything from hurricanes to hail, wildfires, and flooding across most of the country. What that means is that no place is really safe—it’s a riskier place to live, work, and insure,” Stewart explained.
As weather risks increase nationwide, insurance rates are being driven up not only for those who have filed claims but for all policyholders. Stewart attributed this trend to the insurance industry’s struggle to accurately model a rapidly changing climate and its unpredictable impact on weather patterns. “What we thought to be low risk is now turning out to be high risk,” he noted.
A prime example of this new reality is the flooding event in southern Quebec. Last July, remnants of Hurricane Debby swept through the region, dumping between 150 to 200 millimetres of rain and causing an estimated $2.5 billion in insured damages. “Many of those homes were considered low- to medium-risk, but it seems that the heavens can open up and pour down an enormous amount of water no matter where you are—even if you’re on the side of a hill rather than at its base,” Stewart added.
The summer of 2024 proved to be record-breaking, emerging as the costliest period for insured severe-weather losses, with totals exceeding $7 billion. Between July and August alone, four catastrophic events unfolded:
- Flooding in Toronto and other parts of southern Ontario incurred $940 million in damages,
- A wildfire in Jasper cost $880 million,
- A hailstorm in Calgary reached $2.8 billion, and
- Flooding in regions of Quebec resulted in $2.5 billion in losses.
These events triggered over a quarter of a million insurance claims—50 percent more than Canadian insurers typically receive in an entire year. Since 2019, the IBC reports a 115 percent surge in claims for personal property damage and a staggering 485 percent increase in repair and replacement costs for personal property.
“People, in every part of the country, have been affected in recent years by one event or another. We’re clearly seeing the risk rise here,” Stewart concluded.
