Calgary hailstorm is Canada’s second largest insured loss event ever at $2.8bn: CatIQ
A hailstorm that struck the Calgary area of Canada in August 2024 is now the second-largest insurance industry loss event in the country’s history at C$2.8 billion, according to CatIQ.
This is just an initial insurance industry loss estimate from CatIQ as well, meaning there will likely be some creep at least over the coming weeks and months.
The hailstorm is already the second-costliest insured event in Canada’s history, following the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire.
Canada has had another record-breaking summer of insurance market losses, which the IBC said “will create claims cost pressures.”
The IBC explained, “On August 5, 2024, severe thunderstorms developed over southern Alberta and moved east, producing significant and damaging hail, strong winds, heavy rain and localized flooding in parts of Calgary. Environment and Climate Change Canada said it received multiple reports of hailstones the size of chicken eggs damaging homes and vehicles. Hail and wind damage are covered by standard home and business insurance and by comprehensive auto insurance policies. By the end of the storm, almost one in five homes in Calgary was impacted.”
“Catastrophic weather has hit our province hard this year and the impact on Calgary residents from this summer’s hailstorm is unprecedented,” added Aaron Sutherland, Vice-President, Western and Pacific, Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC). “Alberta’s insurers have been on the ground assisting customers with needed repairs and financial support, and working to process over 130,000 claims from the hailstorm. Rebuilding will take time and our industry will continue to be there to support impacted communities every step of the way.”
The Calgary area has experienced a number of catastrophic hailstorms in recent years, including the 2020 and 2021 hailstorms that caused over $1.2 billion and $700 million in insured damage, respectively
Severe weather has cost insurers over $3.6 billion in Alberta this summer alone, including the Jasper wildfires.
“Insurers paid out more in claims for this one hail event than the federal government has invested on climate adaptation over the past decade,” explained Craig Stewart, Vice-President, Climate Change and Federal Issues, IBC. “The surging frequency and severity of floods, wildfires, hail and windstorms, represent an escalating threat to lives and property across Canada, yet governments have been vexingly slow to respond and have yet to enact the kinds of meaningful measures that would help Canadians prepare. Improved hail alerting that urges people to park their cars safely and stay indoors, improved building codes that incorporate hail resistant siding and roofing in high-risk areas, provincial and federal retrofit programs must be enacted to help families and businesses build resilience moving forward.”
Hail seems an increasing driver of economic and insured costs, as exposure values in regions that experience large and severe hail storm events grow.
