A new report says Canada exceeded $3.1 billion in insured damage from severe weather in 2023. According to Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ), it's the second year in a row that Canada exceeded the $3-billion mark in insured damage from natural catastrophes or bad weather events.
The report also said that 2023 was the fourth-worst year for insured losses in Canada. Five of the last six years have cracked the Insurance Bureau of Canada's (IBC) top-10 highest insured severe-weather loss years on record, highlighting the financial costs that climate change brings to insurers, governments and taxpayers.
Craig Stewart is the vice-president of climate change and federal issues for IBC. He said the federal government committed to a national flood insurance program in last year's budget, but progress has stalled, leaving many Canadians vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
"The increasing frequency and severity of climate-related disasters should be of concern to all Canadians, even if they have yet to be directly affected," Stewart said.
According to the IBC, more than 1.5 million Canadians cannot find affordable flood insurance.
The most expensive severe weather event in 2023 was the Okanagan and Shuswap wildfires in B.C. that took place between August and September, causing more than $720 million in insured damages, according to CatIQ.
"This year's wildfire season has broken all records in terms of the amount of land burned and damage caused to homes and businesses in B.C.," said Aaron Sutherland, vice-president of IBC's Pacific and Western bureau.
Summer storms in Ontario and throughout the Prairies in 2023 cost nearly $650 million in insured damages, with more than $170 million of that going just to repair or replace storm-damaged vehicles.
The worst year on record is 2016, as the Fort McMurrary, Alta., wildfires drove the cost of insured damages to nearly $6 billion.
