Actuarial Notes

Fires, floods and storms: $3.7 billion in insured damage makes summer 2026 third worst on record

By Insurance Bureau of Canada · 2026

Insurance Bureau of Canada's national news release of October 22, 2026 reporting that severe weather caused more than $3.7 billion in insured losses in the summer of 2026, according to estimates from Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ). That makes the summer of 2026 the third-costliest summer in Canadian history for losses related to severe weather. The amount of insured damage is an estimate provided by CatIQ under licence to IBC; see Catastrophe Loss.

Summer's insured losses underscore the growing financial impact of severe weather across Canada

  • Severe weather caused more than $3.7 billion in insured losses this summer, per CatIQ's estimates.
  • Four of the five costliest summers in Canadian history have occurred within the last six years.
  • Noteworthy events: June storms in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the city of Montreal; July and August flooding in Ontario's Niagara Region; late-June and early-July storms across Ontario and Quebec; intense wildfires across British Columbia; and multiple flooding, wind and hail events across the Prairies.

Rising costs of extreme weather in Canada

  • Over the last decade, insured losses from extreme weather in Canada have averaged more than 3.7 billion annually, up from 1.4 billion in the previous decade and $883 million in the decade before that.
  • Annual losses have increased by roughly 300% since the late 1990s and early 2000s, even after accounting for inflation.
  • In 2024, Canada experienced its costliest year on record, with insured losses from extreme weather exceeding $9 billion.

Protecting Canadians from severe weather risks

  • IBC calls on all orders of government to build new homes away from high-risk flood and wildfire zones, provide incentives for homeowners to invest in mitigation, require community-level mitigation when building in high-risk areas is unavoidable, invest in resilient infrastructure, strengthen building codes and construction standards, and provide clear, accessible risk information to homeowners, renters and businesses.

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