The Canadian bill for insured damage resulting from severe weather events reached a record high in 2024, confirms the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC). The estimate of $8.5 billion is provided by Catastrophe Indices and Quantification (CatIQ).
The previous record for insured damage associated with such events was set in 2016, at $6.2 billion (in 2023 dollars). That year was marked by the forest fires that forced the evacuation of Fort McMurray, Alberta.
In less than four weeks in the summer of 2024, from mid-July to mid-August, four major losses alone accounted for some $7.7 billion in insured losses. On July 16, 2024, major flooding occurred in the Greater Toronto Area. The torrential rains and resulting flooding totalled $990 million.
Then, between July 22 and August 17, fires threatened the community of Jasper and its national park in Alberta. The fire finally forced the evacuation of the municipality on August 7, 2024. The fires caused $1.1 billion in insured damage.
On August 5, still in Alberta, a particularly exceptional hailstorm hit the greater Calgary area. Insured damage is estimated at $3 billion.
Finally, on August 9 and 10, 2024, torrential rains associated with the remnants of Hurricane Debby caused flooding in the greater Montreal area. The insured damage bill climbed to $2.7 billion.
Debby thus became the costliest event in Quebec history for insurers, ahead of the ice storm that plunged part of the province into darkness in January 1998.
An upward trend
The 2024 weather claims bill represents 12 times the average annual bill for the 2001-2010 decade, which stood at $701 million.
IBC’s CEO, Celyeste Power, stated that beyond these staggering losses, hundreds of thousands of Canadians lives were upended in 2024. Property and casualty insurers have been there to help, “but it’s time for governments to take decisive action to protect Canadians from these escalating and dangerous events,” she added.
“Canada is clearly becoming a riskier place to live, work and insure,” stated Craig Stewart, IBC's Vice-President, Climate Change and Federal Issues. He advocates faster updating of building codes to better protect homes.
Five other major losses
In addition to the four major losses mentioned above, IBC also highlighted five other events in 2024 that exceeded the $50 million mark in insured damage:
- the deep freeze from January 12 to 15 in the western provinces, which cost $180 million;
- the hailstorm in Manitoba on May 16 ($60 million);
- severe storms in Saskatchewan on June 23 ($135 million);
- further flooding in the Toronto area and southern Ontario on August 13 and September 16 ($110 million);
- storms in southern British Columbia from October 18 to 20 ($120 million).
Seven out of ten
In IBC’s list of the 10 years with the highest insured severe-weather loss years on record, seven of them occurred in the last decade. Prior to that, 2013 was ranked 3rd with insured losses of over $4 billion. The year 2013 was marked by flooding in Alberta and Toronto and an ice storm in the GTA.