Canadian Natural Disasters Caused $2.1 Billion in Insured Losses in 2021
March 23, 2022
"In today's world of extreme weather events, the new normal for yearly insured catastrophic losses in Canada has become $2 billion, most of it due to water-related damage," Craig Stewart, vice president of federal affairs for the IBC, said in a statement.
Canada's climate is warming two times faster than the global average, according to a 2019 report. The rapidly changing climate is also increasing the frequency, intensity and duration of extreme weather events like heatwaves, wildfires and floods. This trend is expected to continue for several decades, even if emissions are reduced globally.
Top Weather Events in 2021
Environment Canada noted that 2021 felt like a year where Canada exceeded the number of records broken in terms of natural catastrophes. The top weather events of 2021, as ranked by Environment Canada, include:
- A heatwave that stuck British Columbia in late June, with temperatures reaching nearly 50 C
- Flooding that hit British Columbia in November
- One of the driest summers in 75 years due to severe droughts across Canada
- Wildfires that were out of control in almost every province and territory, with 2,500 more wildfires reported in 2021 than in 2020
- Four heat waves in the last year (2021 had the fifth warmest summer in the past 74 years)
- Various tornadoes that hit Quebec in June and Ontario in July
- The Arctic blast that left parts of Canada in a deep freeze in February
- The July hailstorm in Calgary, which led to more than $500 million in insurance claims
- Hurricane Larry, which caused widespread power outages in Newfoundland in September
- A fast, low-pressure system in January that brought extreme winds of 100 km/h to southern and central Alberta and southern Saskatchewan
Notably, British Columbia was affected by the top five disasters last year, leading Environment Canada to label the province "ground zero for weather catastrophes."
Contact Avant Insurance Brokers Ltd to learn more about being properly insured for possible weather disasters.
