Severe weather events in Canada caused $3.1B in insured damage in 2022: report – National | 24CA News
From flooding to storms, insured harm attributable to extreme climate occasions hit $3.1 billion in Canada final yr, making 2022 the third worst yr for insured losses within the nation’s historical past, in response to the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC).
Among excessive climate disasters, the devastating derecho storm in Ontario and Quebec final May proved to be the most costly, inflicting $ 1 billion in damages.
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The subsequent costliest occasions included hurricane Fiona, which value $800 million, and summer season storms in Western Canada which value $300 million.
In its report printed Wednesday, the nationwide trade affiliation representing Canada’s non-public residence, auto and business insurers, stated that the losses in 2022 have been not like these of 2016 — the best loss yr on file — throughout which the wildfire in Fort McMurray, Alta., brought about about 75 per cent of nationwide losses.
Canada: Insured Catastrophic Losses in 2022.
(CNW Group/Insurance Bureau of Canada)
“While the $3.1 billion figure is alarming, no single catastrophic event nor any particular region accounted for the majority of losses,” the bureau added.
In 2021, extreme climate in Canada brought about a complete of $2.1 billion in insured harm.
Craig Stewart, vice chairman, Climate Change and Federal Issues on the IBC, stated within the report that the Canadian authorities has spared “far too little attention” on the implementation of its local weather coverage.
“Canada is increasingly a riskier place to live, work and insure,” stated Stewart, including that the federal authorities must paved the way in finalizing a National Adaptation Strategy and “boldly funding both community-level infrastructure and property-level retrofits that increase resilience to floods, windstorms, heat events and wildfires.”
In November 2022, the federal authorities introduced $1.6 billion in federal funding commitments to enhance Canada’s local weather resilience, together with initiatives comparable to enhancing public infrastructures in municipalities and townships and flood mapping.
“IBC continues in-depth discussions with the federal and provincial governments on ways to improve the resilience of communities and better manage the costs of flooding for high-risk residential properties in Canada,” the report stated.
The report additionally mentions the bomb cyclone that hit Eastern Canada through the winter vacation season in 2022 inflicting $180 million in damages. Other occasions embody British Columbia’s winter storm and king tide in December 2022, and Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario’s flooding in April, costing $80 million and $60 million respectively.
In the report, Stewart additionally cautioned about property insurance coverage turning into costlier within the days to come back.
“In particular, we’re seeing early signs that property insurance may become less affordable or even unavailable as global reinsurers shift capacity away from riskier countries,” stated Stewart.
“Now is the time for Canadian insurers and governments to partner on a National Flood Insurance Program to ensure Canadian homeowners remain financially resilient in the face of these growing number and severity of events.”
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
