Claims From 4 Summer Weather Events in Canada Exceed Prior Year Total: IBC

Four natural catastrophes over four weeks during Canada’s summer season have resulted in about five times the amount of claims than the 20-year average, reported the Insurance Bureau of Canada.

About 228,000 home, auto and business insurance claims have been made following 2 flooding events, a wildfire, and a hailstorm in Canada during July and August. Last year during the same period, insurers reported about 113,00 claims made. There were about 160,000 claims filed for all of 2023, IBC said.

Severe weather in 2023 caused insured losses of more than $3.1 billion Canadian dollars (about $2.3 billion), and 2024 is “shaping up to be another costly year,” IBC said.

July floods in Toronto and southern Ontario caused over CA$940 million in insured losses. The Jasper wildfire in July resulted in insured losses expected to exceed CA$880 million.

IBC said annual insured losses from weather now routinely eclipse CA$2 billion though the average from 2001 to 2012 was about $700 million.

“This summer has been the most challenging in history for the hundreds of thousands of Canadians across the country who were impacted by these storms and wildfires,” said Celyests Power, president and CEO of the IBC. “While insurers continue to assist their customers with financial support, the sheer volume of claims, coupled with skilled labour shortages and continued strains in Canada’s supply chain, means that the claims process will take time.”

Power called on the federal government to support the National Flood Insurance Program, prioritize assistance to affected communities, and stop allowing construction and rebuilding in flood plains or areas prone to wildfires.

($1 USD = 1.3506 Canadian dollars)

Top photo: Destruction from Jasper, Alberta wildfires. (Amber Bracken/The Canadian Press via AP).