Photo: File Photo
By Natasha Bulowski
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Canada’s National Observer
Extreme weather caused more than $2.4 billion in insured losses in Canada last year thanks to wildfires, winter storms and atmospheric rivers, new insurance sector data reveals.
The amount of insured losses has nearly tripled from one decade to the next, noted Celyeste Power, president and CEO of the Insurance Bureau of Canada in a news release on Tuesday — rising from $14 billion in the ten years before 2015 to $37 billion over the past decade.
“Two decades ago, insured losses seldom surpassed $500 million in a year. Today, annual costs exceeding $1 billion have become the norm,” Power said.
Extreme weather and wildfires are exacerbated by climate change, which is largely caused by burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas. As the climate continues to warm, the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events will keep increasing and so will the damages and safety risks for Canadians.
Last year was the 10th costliest year on record, with $2.4 billion in insured losses, according to IBC’s data — with the biggest single event being a severe ice storm that rocked parts of Ontario and Quebec in late March. It flooded homes, downed powerlines and damaged vehicles, resulting in $490 million in total insured losses.
Then came wildfires, the most costly of which devastated the City of Flin Flon and surrounding communities for $250 million of insured losses. Close to 40,000 people were evacuated from the mining city, which straddles the Saskatchewan-Manitoba border.
In the west, British Columbia continues to get hammered with atmospheric rivers. In early December, a series of atmospheric rivers pummeled the Lower Mainland and caused severe flooding in the Fraser Valley and nearly $90 million in insured losses. But the costs of extreme weather events go far beyond dollars.
Two people reportedly lost their lives during the atmospheric river: a woman in Chilliwack was struck by a falling branch and a man in Snohomish, Wash., drowned in his vehicle.
Along with direct hits to Canadians’ health, vehicles and homes, these climate-fuelled disasters are also hitting their pocketbooks, because insurers are raising premiums.
In 2024 — the most costly year on record, with $9.4 billion in insured losses — Canadian property and casualty insurers had a combined profit of more than $4 billion. Canadian insurance companies are invested in fossil fuel companies that are fuelling climate change and the extreme weather.
The intersection of climate change and insurance presents many challenges: most people don’t know if they are at high risk of flooding either before or after buying property because detailed flood maps are not publicly available and, if they were, property values would suffer. Insurers may not offer coverage in flood-prone or high-risk areas and without insurance homeowners can’t get a mortgage and are at risk of losing everything if and when a flood hits.
The federal government is working on a flood hazard mapping program to create maps of higher-risk areas so Canadians can access this information.