Initial estimates from Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ), under license to the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), are showing that the August 5 hailstorm which hit the Calgary area is the second costliest insured event in Canadian history, following the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire. The IBC warns that this and the rest of summer 2024’s record-setting insured losses will place pressure on insurance premiums going forward.  

According to CatIQ’s initial estimates, the hailstorm in question resulted in more than 130,000 claims reaching nearly $2.8-billion. “By the end of the storm, almost one in five homes in Calgary were impacted,” the IBC adds in a statement about the initial estimates. The IBC says the impact is unprecedented. Previous hailstorms in the Calgary area, including those in 2020 and 2021, caused more than $1.2-billion and $700-million in insured damage, respectively.  

Increased resilience needed 

“Given these trends, it’s critical the governments reinvest in programs such as the municipal Resilient Roofing Rebate program that help increase the resilience of homes and businesses to future hail events,” they add.  

All told this summer, the industry received approximately 228,000 insurance claims related to the four major catastrophic weather events which occurred, including the Jasper Wildfire Complex, flash flooding in the Greater Toronto Area and flooding across Quebec following Hurricane Debby.  

In 2023 severe weather reportedly caused more than $3.1-billion in insured damage. “Insured losses related to severe weather in Canada now routinely exceed $2-billion annually. By comparison, between 2001 and 2010, Canadian insurers averaged $701-million a year in losses related to severe weather,” they write.