Keyword
Hail

Hail, strong winds devastate Alberta communities

TABER, Alta. – Taber corn, that tasty sweet treat on the cob that Albertans look forward to in late summer, will be much harder to find this year after a major storm ripped through the province’s southern corn belt this…

How much it cost the industry when baseball-sized hail hit western Canada

A severe storm that affected parts of Saskatchewan and Manitoba in mid-June resulted in more than $90 million in insured damage, according to data released by Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ). Strong winds and large hail – in some…

Busy broker fined $500 for remitting premium to insurer four months late

A “very busy” Manitoba broker working alone with no support staff has been fined $500 by the provincial broker regulator for failing to remit an insured’s crop hail insurance premium to an insurer until four months after the due date.…

Cataclysmic hailstorm could cause up to $13.5 billion in damage: ICLR report

In a low-probability, worst case scenario, a single major hailstorm in Canada could result in insurance claims of up to $13.5 billion, according to a new research paper from the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR). “Of concern is that…

Authorities confirm tornado hit Quebec town as cleanup operations continue

MONTREAL – Environment Canada says a tornado touched down in a Quebec town during intense thunderstorms that caused considerable damage in different parts of the province, including the felling of century-old trees in Montreal. Meteorologist Amelie Bertrand said Wednesday a team dispatched to Lachute confirmed an EF-1 tornado with winds reaching about 175 km/h struck in the town about 85 kilometres north of Montreal.

Bertrand said an EF-1 tornado can cause wind gusts ranging from about 135 to 175 km/h, placing Tuesday’s tornado at the higher end of…

Cleanup underway after severe storm with heavy winds rips through Montreal area

MONTREAL – Crews began cleaning up in Quebec on Wednesday after a suspected tornado hit one town and severe thunderstorms ripped through other parts of the province, felling century-old trees in one Montreal neighbourhood. The Montreal area and the Laurentian…

Fewer and less intense cat events significantly lower global economic losses to US$44 billion in H1 2017: Swiss Re

Total global economic losses from disasters were US$44 billion in the first half of 2017, down significantly from US$117 billion in H1 2016, as a result of fewer and less intense events, according to preliminary sigma estimates from Swiss Re.…

Dash 8 crew erroneously thought convective activity was not a factor in Mont-Joli approach incident: TSB

A combination wind shear and turbulence was one factor in a 2016 incident in Quebec in which a pilot had “temporary difficulty” controlling a Dash 8 below 2,000 feet, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said in a recent investigation…

2016 was the warmest year on record for the globe, Canadian Prairies experienced one of the “longest and most active storm seasons”: report

Last year topped 2015 as the warmest year in 137 years of record keeping and marked the third consecutive year of record warmth, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported on Thursday. The 27th annual State of the Climate…

Asia records US$11 billion economic loss from heavy flooding in July, western Canada affected by wildfires, severe weather: Aon

Relentless seasonal flooding that began in mid-June resulted in continued fatalities and damage across parts of Asia in July, causing an estimated US$11 billion in economic losses, according to Impact Forecasting’s latest Global Catastrophe Recap report. On Tuesday, Impact Forecasting,…

Catastrophe losses contribute to decrease in 2017 Q2 net income for Travelers

Solid net investment income was not enough to offset higher catastrophe losses and lower underlying underwriting gains, contributing to the Travelers Companies, Inc. witnessing lower net income for 2017 Q2 compared to 2016 Q2. Net income was US$595 million for…

Severe thunderstorm in Saskatoon causes power outages, street flooding

Crews from the City of Saskatoon are responding to “power outages, lifted manhole covers and flooded streets” following a severe thunderstorm Monday evening. According to a press release on Monday from the city, Environment Canada issued a thunderstorm warning and…