The newest report from Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ), a Toronto subsidiary of Zurich-based PERILS AG, regarding the August 5, 2024 hailstorm in Calgary, Alberta, puts total insured losses at an estimated $3.25-billion for the event. This is up from the $2.948-billion in estimated damages published in CatIQ’s earlier report, issued 90 days after the storm.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) says the industry is currently working through more than 130,000 claims related to the storm. IBC says the majority of auto claims, which represent more than half of all claims from the hailstorm, are complete, while the vast majority of repairs to properties damaged in the storm are expected to be completed this spring and summer.
60,000 homes were impacted
“Total insured damage to vehicles is now estimated to be nearly $1-billion. The damage was so extensive that roughly half of all vehicles damaged were total losses,” the IBC states. “Nearly 60,000 homes in the Calgary area were impacted.”
They add that summer 2024 was the most expensive on record in Canada for catastrophic events. In total, such events caused more than $8-billion in insured damage, half in Alberta alone. “There was nothing apparent about the August 5 storm from a meteorological standpoint to suggest it would result in one of the costliest events in Canadian history,” adds Laura Twidle, president and CEO of CatIQ.
CatIQ says a fifth update on market losses from the hailstorm will be made available one year after the storm, on August 5, 2025.
