Insured losses from severe weather in Canada topped $1 billion this year: IBC

The Insurance Bureau of Canada is estimating insured damage caused by severe weather across Canada to be over $1 billion this year.

Total insured damage in Canada during 2012 is approximately $1.19 billion, down from last year’s $1.7 billion, according to IBC.

Read IBC’s estimates here: Canadian Severe Weather 2012

The numbers reflect the estimates reported by Property Claim Services Canada (PCS-Canada), a service that tracks insured losses arising from catastrophic events in Canada. Data collected by PCS-Canada suggests that thousands of claims have been filed for damage to homes, cars and businesses in the wake of the severe weather events.

Several severe weather events occurred throughout the country, and hit Ontario and Alberta particularly hard during the year.
In May, a weather system that hit Ontario and Quebec resulted in high winds and flooding amounted to $260 million in damages.

The largest of the events in 2012 was the wind, flooding and hail storms that battered Calgary and surrounding areas this past August.   An update to insured damages pegs that storm now at more than $500 million.

In October, “Superstorm” Sandy, where rain and winds damaged the U.S. northeast including New York and Atlantic City, hit across Ontario and Quebec and topped $100 million in damages.    

“Insurers are seeing the financial impacts of severe weather first-hand,” IBC Senior vice president of Policy and Chief Economist Gregor Robinson noted. “Canadians are already witnessing the impact of severe weather in terms of lost lives and injuries, families displaced from their homes, and towns that are devastated.”