Summer floods in Ontario exceed $1 billion in insured losses
The devastating flooding that hit the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and other parts of southern Ontario in August caused over $100 million in insured damage, according to initial estimates from Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ). This was the second catastrophic flooding event in Ontario in as many months. The July flash flooding event caused over $940 million in insured damage.
Ontario experienced over $1 billion in insured damage from floods this summer – the second-costliest summer for flooding in the province’s history. This year’s losses were only surpassed by the Toronto floods in 2013.
Two days of heavy rainfall and thunderstorms on August 17 and 18, 2024, led to significant flood damage in Mississauga, Etobicoke and other parts of the GTA. In addition, a tornado was confirmed to have touched down and caused damage to property in Ayr, Ontario.
“Ontarians have been hit hard by flooding this year, and the damage we’ve seen is unprecedented,” said Amanda Dean, Vice-President, Ontario and Atlantic, Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC). “The insurance industry has been on the ground since day one of the July flooding, assisting customers as they rebuild and put their lives back together. The emotional distress that this summer’s floods have caused thousands of Ontario residents cannot be overlooked. Rest assured, insurers will continue to support their customers until the very end of the claims process.”
As revealed by IBC, the summer of 2024 now ranks as the most destructive season in Canadian history for insured losses due to severe weather. In only two months, July and August, this summer surpassed the worst year on record and pushed the 2024 year-to-date tally for insured damage to over $7.7 billion. By comparison, insurers paid out an average of $701 million in claims annually for severe weather losses from 2001 to 2010. Insured losses in 2024 are now valued at over 10 times that number.
The property and casualty insurance industry has been advocating for further investments to help upgrade existing stormwater infrastructure and mitigate flood risk. IBC and its members commend the Ontario government for allocating $11 million in the Wetlands Conservation Partner Program this year. However, more federal and provincial coordination is needed so that critical projects, like wetlands conservation projects, can help improve resilience to the impacts of flooding.
“Insured losses from catastrophic weather events have been climbing for years, with this summer serving as a stark reminder that Canada has not done enough to prepare,” said Craig Stewart, Vice-President, Climate Change and Federal Issues, IBC. “IBC has been calling on all governments to treat Canada’s changing climate as the crisis it is and to collaborate on reducing disaster risk. The federal-provincial debates on how to reduce emissions have overshadowed efforts to coordinate and invest in climate adaptation. Governments must work together to plan a path forward that better protects communities and families across the country, and to avert an insurability crisis as millions of new homes are built. This is a whole-of-society challenge and requires all leaders and stakeholders to come together to develop a national action plan to ensure Canada is better protected.”
In June 2023, the federal government launched a hopeful National Adaptation Strategy, but little progress has been made toward achieving its targets by any order of government. As costs from climate fuelled disasters mount, action from governments to reduce risk has stalled. Municipalities are being funded to build new homes on flood plains and areas prone to wildfire. Other orders of government need to support resilient building so that insurance is available and affordable for homeowners in the future; this includes urgent investments in disaster mitigation such as flood defenses, upgrades to stormwater infrastructure, and programming to help fire-proof and flood-proof new and existing homes.
Insured losses due to catastrophic weather are increasing
Here is a breakdown of insured losses for the four additional catastrophic weather events of summer 2024:
The amounts of insured damage are estimates provided by CatIQ (www.CatIQ.com) under licence to IBC.
Questions about a claim?
Consumers with questions about their claim are encouraged to contact their insurance representative. For general insurance inquires, consumers can contact IBC’s Consumer Information Centre at 1-844-2ask-IBC (1-844-227-5422).
