CatIQ, a Toronto-based independent catastrophe insurance data provider and subsidiary of PERILS, has announced that insured losses from catastrophic events experienced across Canada totalled CAD 2.4 billion in 2025.
According to the Institute for Catastrophe Loss Reduction (ICLR), uninsured losses amounted to a further $1.0 billion, bringing total societal losses for the year to $3.4 billion.
The insured loss figure makes 2025 the ninth-largest loss year on record for Canada, placing it at the lower end of the past five years of annual loss totals and well below the record-breaking $9.1 billion recorded in 2024.
Despite being an average year in terms of total losses, 2025 ranked second for the number of catastrophes declared, second for ice storm losses, and first for fire-related catastrophes.
The costliest event in 2025 was the ice storm that struck Ontario and Quebec in late March, accounting for nearly a quarter of annual insured losses at $490 million. CatIQ released its fourth industry loss estimate for the event in September 2025. This ice storm now ranks as the second-costliest ice storm on record, behind the 1998 ice storm, which caused an estimated $2.3 billion in losses.
Laura Twidle, President and CEO of CatIQ, said, “While 2025 marked a welcome reprieve after the record-shattering losses of 2024, the data shows that this “average” year was anything but. We saw the highest number of fire-related CATs declared, and, perhaps more notably these all occurred in provinces that had never had a prior industry fire catastrophe. Those events came after a string of quiet catastrophes that saw the year start with a series of snow- and melt-related events in southern Ontario and Quebec, culminating with a major ice storm that drove almost a quarter of the year’s losses. With 17 events overall, the year is now tied in second for the largest number of catastrophes declared, demonstrating that even a “slow” year brings its own challenges.”
Paul Kovacs, Executive Director of ICLR, said, “Extreme hazards cost Canadians billions of dollars in insured and uninsured damage each year. In 2025 this included winter storms and wildfire damage across the country. In 2024 this included flooding, hail, and wildfire. It need not be so. Small investments in proven protection can reduce or prevent most losses.”
