Over $3.1 Billion in Insured Damage in 2023
Graphic shared from Insurance Bureau of Canada
By Jo Anne Malpass
For the second year in a row, Canada exceeded $3 billion in insured damage from natural catastrophes and severe weather events. Nationally, insured damage for severe weather events reached over $3.1 billion in 2023, according to Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ).
Recent releases from the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) say 2023 is now the fourth-worst year for insured losses in Canada. “This grim statistic highlights the financial costs of a changing climate to insurers, governments and taxpayers. While 2023 was a record-breaking year for wildfires, flooding also continued to cause destruction in nearly every region across Canada.”
Noteworthy severe weather events last year include the Atlantic Canada cold snap; Ontario and Quebec spring ice storm; the Tantallon, Nova Scotia wildfire; Nova Scotia flooding; Prairies summer storms; the Winnipeg hailstorm; Ontario severe summer storms; the Okanagan and Shuswap, BC area wildfires; and the Behchokǫ̀-Yellowknife and Hay River, NWT wildfires.
The release about the summer's wildfires in the Okanagan (McDougall Creek) and Shuswap (Bush Creek East) says it resulted in over $720 million in insured losses, according to initial estimates from Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ). These wildfires are now the most costly insured event ever recorded in British Columbia and the tenth costliest in Canada's history.
The Bush Creek East wildfire did extensive damage to properties in communities north of Shuswap Lake. More than 270 structures are confirmed to have been destroyed. In addition, the Bush Creek East wildfire caused extensive damage to public infrastructure, including damage to hydro poles that resulted in power outages for thousands of customers.
Top 5 notable severe weather events
2016 $5.96B Fort McMurray, Alberta, fire
2013 $3.87B Alberta floods; Greater Toronto Area (GTA) floods; December GTA ice storm
2022 $3.4B Multiple events
2023 $3.13B Okanagan and Shuswap, BC, area wildfires; Nova Scotia flooding
1998 2.83B Quebec ice storm
“With today's extreme weather events, insured catastrophic losses in Canada now routinely exceed $2 billion annually, and most of it is due to water-related damage.”
After surveying insurers, IBC sees no change in the availability or affordability of wildfire insurance coverage across the country. However, as a result of escalating losses and revised risk modelling, Canada is viewed now as a riskier place to insure. Consequently, numerous Canadians cannot access flood insurance.
“The federal government committed to a national flood insurance program in last year’s Federal Budget. However, progress has stalled, leaving too many Canadians vulnerable to the effects of our changing climate,” said Craig Stewart, Vice-President, Climate Change and Federal Issues, IBC. “Once launched, this program would provide Canadians living in high-risk areas with affordable financial protection and peace of mind when a flood strikes. Details of the program must be shared with our industry and the provinces this winter if it’s to be operational before the next federal election.”
