April 2018 marked the month that Canada exceeded 100 catastrophes over the span of a decade, with combined losses estimated to have cost the Canadian re/insurance industry around CAD $17.4 billion (USD $13.6 billion).
Catastrophe Indices and Quantification, Inc. (CatIQ), Canada’s loss index provider, stores insured loss catastrophe data back to 2008, and has reported that insured losses from Canadian catastrophes are becoming increasingly severe.
It noted that, of the 5 most costly Canadian catastrophes recorded over the last decade, 4 occurred in the latter half of the decade, and it observed that it is becoming increasingly common for Canadian annual re/insured catastrophes losses to exceed CAD $1 billion as severe weather events become more frequent.
CatIQ observed that insured losses reached CAD $1.4 billion over 2017, and 2018 is already off to a costly start, with the most recent event being an ice storm that downed trees, powerlines and caused flooding across Southern Ontario, and left tens of thousands without power in Quebec.
Ice storms are a regular catastrophe risk in Canada, with one event in December 2013 even ranking as the 12th costliest catastrophe in the CatIQ database.
According to CatIQ, the five costliest Canadian catastrophes since 2008 are the Fort McMurray Wildfire (2016), the Southern Alberta Flood (2013), the Greater Toronto Area Flooding (2013), the Central Alberta Hailstorms (2014), and the Slave Lake Fire (2011).
CatIQ serves the Canadian re/insurance industries, public sector, and other stakeholders by delivering detailed analytical and meteorological information on natural and man-made catastrophes, and by combining loss indices and related information through its online subscription-based platform.
