Severe Weather Centre
One reliable source for insurance information following severe weather events.
- Latest severe weather events
- Severe weather help
- Past severe weather events
- The cost of severe weather in Canada
- What we’re doing about the cost of severe weather
Helping you stay informed and protected
From knowing how your insurance helps you recover and rebuild to answering your frequently asked insurance questions, we have all the information you need in one place.
Latest severe weather events
Get all the information you need about the most recent severe weather events in your region and across the country.
Severe weather help
- Customer Information Centre
- CAMP (Community Assistance Mobile Pavilion)
- Severe Weather Insurance FAQs
Customer Information Centre
Our expert staff are ready to answer your questions about insurance following severe weather events. From helping you understand how to file a claim to resolving insurance disputes, our Information Officers are here for you.
1-844-2ask-IBC (1-844-227-5422)
M-F 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. EST
CAMP (Community Assistance Mobile Pavilion)
Our Community Assistance Mobile Pavilion (CAMP) is a national program designed to help people who have suffered loss or damage as a result of a natural disaster.
Severe Weather Insurance FAQs
After a disaster, Canadians can expect recovery support from a variety of sources including the Red Cross and Emergency Management Organizations (EMOs).
Past severe weather events
The cost of severe weather in Canada
Noteworthy severe weather events in 2023 include the Atlantic Canada cold snap; Ontario and Quebec spring ice storm; the Tantallon, Nova Scotia, wildfire; Nova Scotia flooding; Prairies summer storms; the Winnipeg hailstorm; Ontario severe summer storms; the Okanagan and Shuswap, BC, area wildfires; and the Behchokǫ̀-Yellowknife and Hay River, NWT, wildfires.
Insured Damage for Severe Weather Events in 2023
February 3–5: Atlantic Canada cold snap – $120 million
April 5–6: Ontario and Quebec spring ice storm – $330 million
May 28–June 4: Tantallon, Nova Scotia, wildfire – $165 million
June 18–July 26: Prairies summer storms – $300 million
July 20–August 25: Ontario severe summer storms – $340 million
July 23: Nova Scotia flooding – $170 million
August 13–September 16: Behchokǫ̀-Yellowknife and Hay River, NWT, wildfires – $60 million
August 15–September 25: Okanagan and Shuswap area wildfires – $720 million
August 24: Winnipeg hailstorm – $140 million
Canada’s Top 10 Highest Insured Severe-Weather Loss Years on Record (loss and adjusted expenses in 2022 dollars)
| Rank | Year | Total loss ($ billion) | Notable severe weather events |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2016 | 5.96 | Fort McMurray, Alberta, fire |
| 2 | 2013 | 3.87 | Alberta floods; Greater Toronto Area (GTA) floods; December GTA ice storm |
| 3 | 2022 | 3.4 | Multiple events |
| 4 | 2023 | 3.13 | Okanagan and Shuswap, BC, area wildfires; Nova Scotia flooding |
| 5 | 1998 | 2.83 | Quebec ice storm |
| 6 | 2021 | 2.48 | Calgary hailstorm; British Columbia floods |
| 7 | 2020 | 2.46 | Fort McMurray flood; Calgary hailstorm |
| 8 | 2018 | 2.40 | Multiple events: Ontario and Quebec rainstorms and windstorms |
| 9 | 2011 | 1.97 | Slave Lake, Alberta, fire and windstorm |
| 10 | 2012 | 1.65 | Calgary rainstorm |
Sources 1983–2007: IBC, PCS Canada, Swiss Re, Deloitte. 2008–2021: CatIQ
What we’re doing about the cost of severe weather
In today's world of extreme weather events, insured catastrophic losses in Canada now routinely exceed $2 billion annually, most of it due to water-related damage. In the decade before 2008, Canadian insurers averaged only $456 million a year in severe weather-related losses.
We continue to have 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.
In August 2022, Federal, provincial, territorial and governments and Indigenous organizations collaborated with insurers to finalize the "Task Force Report on Flood Insurance and Relocation”. The federal government is now examining options to create a national residential flood insurance program that will offer affordable insurance to all residents at high risk of overland flooding, including storm surge, through a public-private partnership. Most G7 countries already have such a program in place.
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Climate Proof Canada
We need to prepare our communities now from ever increasing severe weather events, like floods and wildfires. See what we’re doing to make climate change action work.
What we do
As the leading voice of the Canadian property and casualty (P&C) insurance industry and their customers, we proactively work to shape decisions on policy reforms and regulations and provide consumer education.