Two years after the remnants of Hurricane Debby swept through Quebec, bringing torrential rainfall, the final estimate of insured damage remains stable at $2.8 billion, according to Catastrophe Indices and Quantification (CatIQ).
A year ago, the fifth estimate of the damage stood at $2.806 billion. In August 2024, the remnants of the hurricane moved toward the Great Lakes before dumping torrential rain on Ontario and, especially, Quebec all along the St. Lawrence Valley, as far as Quebec City.
In some areas, between 100 mm and 200 mm of rain fell within a few hours, overwhelming storm sewers. Tens of thousands of claims were handled by insurers in the weeks and months that followed.
Among the four major catastrophes that occurred during the summer of 2024, CatIQ notes that this event has the highest claims settlement rate two years later, with 99 per cent of claims closed.
According to Caroline Floyd, director at CatIQ, compared with the estimate made in August 2025, “the average personal lines claim amount decreased slightly, while the average commercial claim amount increased slightly. Interestingly, the average commercial claim amount is essentially the same for the two major flood events that occurred in 2024 (the flash floods in southern Ontario and Hurricane Debby).”
Debby was the last of the major catastrophes of the summer of 2024, which cost insurers more than $9 billion. “Not surprisingly, the Canadian insurance industry now uses 2024 as a benchmark to assess how the current year is unfolding in terms of catastrophes. That said, as we have seen, it only takes one or two events for a year to experience intense activity,” says Floyd.
