The Insurance Bureau of Canada says a severe hail storm that battered Calgary last month is the second-costliest event in Canadian history.
The bureau says the initial damage estimates come from Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc., which collects information on losses from disasters.
It says the storm racked up nearly $2.8 billion in insured losses and is second only to the 2016 wildfire in Fort McMurray.
The Aug. 5 storm brought significant hail, strong winds, heavy rain and localized flooding to parts of Calgary, affecting about one in five homes in the city.
Hail stones as big as golf balls pummelled the tarmac at Calgary International Airport, damaging planes at WestJet and Flair Airlines and forcing them to ground 10 per cent of their fleets for repairs and inspections.
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Alberta has experienced five of the 10 costliest disasters in Canadian history, all of which have occurred since 2016.
“Catastrophic weather has hit our province hard this year and the impact on Calgary residents from this summer’s hail storm is unprecedented,” said Aaron Sutherland, vice-president, western and Pacific, with the insurance bureau.
Craig Stewart, the bureau’s vice-president for climate change and federal issues, said: “Insurers paid out more in claims for this one hail event than the federal government has invested on climate adaptation over the past decade.”
Of the top 10 natural disasters in Canada for insurance payouts, the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire still tops the list at $4.5 billion.
Two other Alberta-related events on the list include the 2013 southern Alberta floods at $2 billion and the 2020 Alberta hailstorm at $1.3 billion.
Fires and floods: 4 disasters across Canada led to record number of insurance claims in 2024
The Insurance Bureau said this summer saw a record number of insurance claims driven by four major weather events and natural disasters over the span of four weeks.
It said the industry is addressing around 228,000 claims — a 406 per cent increase compared with the previous 20-year average, after the flooding in Toronto and elsewhere in southern Ontario, the Jasper wildfire, Calgary hailstorm and flooding in Quebec regions.
In August, IBC national director Rob Dupree said there have been about 2,500 insurance claims made related to the Jasper wildfire, whereas about 25,000 claims have been filed related to the Ontario floods, 35,000 claims related to the Calgary hail storm and 70,000 claims related to the Montreal floods.
Canada’s home, auto and business insurers reported 160,000 claims for the entirety of 2023.
The bureau says severe weather in 2023 caused more than $3.1 billion in insured damage across Canada.
© 2024 The Canadian Press
