The cost of flooding

The insurance industry is also responding to flooding that occurred in Toronto and Montreal just this past weekend, as well as those that were impacted by the tornado in Ayr, Ontario.

In a release, the IBC states it is working with governments and regulators across the country to address adjuster capacity across Canada. Adjuster access is critical following natural catastrophes, as they ensure the insurance industry can support consumers as quickly as possible.

"With several large natural disasters in the span of one month, including another round of torrential downpours in the Greater Toronto Area over the weekend, coupled with skilled labour shortages and supply chain issues, we are urging affected customers to be patient. Rebuilding will take time," said Craig Stewart, the IBC’s vice-president of climate change and federal issues.

"IBC and its members are calling on governments to improve disaster preparedness and recovery across the country."

Specifically, Stewart and the IBC call on the government to stop building and rebuilding on flood plains, invest in disaster mitigation, including upgrades to stormwater infrastructure, and roll out programs to fire- and flood-proof homes.

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Past insurance damages

Insured losses related to severe weather in Canada now routinely exceed $2 billion annually. By comparison, between 2001 and 2010, Canadian insurers averaged $675 million a year in losses related to severe weather.

However, for the past two years, the damage has exceeded $3 billion. In 2023, the total costs reached over $3.1 billion – the fourth-worst year for insured losses in Canada.

The costliest event was the Okanagan and Shuswap area wildfires from August to September 2023, which the IBC lists as costing $720 million.

The IBC also notes that there are 1.5 million at-risk households in Canada that cannot obtain affordable flood insurance.

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Nicholas Sokic Contributor

Nicholas completed his master's in journalism and communications at Western University. Since then, he's worked as a reporter at the Financial Post, Healthing.ca, Sustainable Biz Canada and more. Aside from reporting, he also has experience in web production, social media management, photography and video production. His work can also be found in the Toronto Star, Yahoo Finance Canada, Electric Autonomy Canada and Exclaim among others.

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