Insured damages for severe weather events in Canada reached $3.1-billion in 2022, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) and Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ).
IBC says 2022 now ranks as the third worst year for insured losses in Canadian history. No single catastrophic event or region accounted for the majority of losses. “Unlike 2016, the highest loss year on record, where the Fort McMurray, Alberta wildfire accounted for about 75 per cent of national losses, 2022 saw disasters from nearly every part of the country,” the IBC writes in its announcement following the publication of the 2022 data.
In 2022, the Ontario and Quebec derecho in May caused the most damage – around $1-billion in insured damages – followed by Hurricane Fiona in September, which caused $800-million in insured damages in Canada. Comparatively, total insured losses from the Fort McMurray fire reached nearly $6-billion.
“Canada is increasingly a riskier place to live, work and insure,” says IBC vice president, climate change and federal issues, Craig Stewart, who adds that governments have spent too little attention on adaptation in climate policy. Stewart also encouraged the federal government to finalize its National Adaptation Strategy, fund community-level infrastructure and also property-level retrofits to increase resilience to floods, windstorms, heat events and wildfires.
The IBC concludes, pointing out that insured catastrophic losses in Canada now routinely exceed $2-billion annually, most of it due to water-related damage. Prior to 2008 insurers averaged only $456-million annually in severe weather-related losses.
“We’re seeing early signs that property insurance may become less affordable or even unavailable as global reinsurers shift capacity away from riskier countries,” Stewart adds. “Now is the time for Canadian insurers and governments to partner on a national flood insurance program.”
