Property Losses Due to Severe Weather Hits $8.5B in 2024

Newly released data by Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ) shows insured property losses caused by severe weather events in Canada hit a record high of $8.5 billion last year, shattering a previous record of $6.2 billion in 2016.

Alarmingly, the $8.5 billion in property losses in 2024 are almost triple the total insured losses recorded in 2023 and 12 times the annual average of $701 million in the decade between 2001 and 2010, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC). IBC adds the summer of 2024 was the most destructive season in Canadian history for insured losses due to wildfires, floods, and hailstorms.

Commercial property insurance is essential for business property owners to cover damages and losses caused by natural disasters, extreme weather, fire, theft, and vandalism. However, taking proactive steps to minimize damage caused by severe weather and natural disasters such as wildfires is also important.

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Top 9 Costliest Severe-Weather Events in Canada in 2024

2024 was a year fuelled by natural disasters and stormy weather. IBC identified the nine most damaging events that upended communities and caused expensive insured property losses, including:

1. A deep freeze in Western Canada in January caused $180 million in property damage
2. Hailstorms in Manitoba in mid-May caused $60 million in damage
3. Severe storms in Saskatchewan in June caused $135 million in damage
4. Flash floods in Toronto and the surrounding region in July caused $990 million in damage
5. The Jasper wildfire in Alberta caused $1.1 billion in damage
6. A hailstorm in Calgary in early August caused $3 billion in damage
7. The remnants of Hurricane Debby that hit Quebec in August, causing $2.7 billion in damage
8. Floods in the Toronto area and Southern Ontario from August to September caused $110 million in damage
9. An atmospheric river that led to intense flooding along the southern B.C. coastline in October caused over $120 million in damage

No province or region in Canada is immune to natural disasters and extreme weather. A wildfire, flood, hurricane, tornado, or other harsh weather event can quickly put any small business out of commission for an extended period and possibly force it to close indefinitely.

What Types of Insurance Helps Business Owners During Extreme Weather?

For business owners, safeguarding the business properties they own, lease, or rent and their business contents and inventory requires commercial property insurance.

Business contents insurance, which covers a company’s assets and inventory, is typically included in a commercial property policy or can be added to a policy if it isn’t.

Additionally, business interruption insurance is critical to include in a policy to cover a business’s loss of income and overhead expenses if it is forced to evacuate by order of authorities or if damage caused by a natural disaster or severe weather forces it to close temporarily for repairs following an insured loss.

Our free, downloadable insurance guide, “How to Protect Your Business Property in the Era of Climate Change”, offers loss prevention strategies for minimizing damage to business properties caused by natural disasters and extreme weather. This comprehensive guide includes tips on risk assessment, preventive measures, and insurance options, making it a valuable resource for small business owners.

How Business Owners Can Get Coverage to Protect Their Properties

Zensurance is Canada’s leading small business insurance brokerage, helping hundreds of thousands of business owners across the country and in hundreds of industries get affordable commercial property insurance.

Fill out our quick and easy online application for a free quote in less than five minutes.

Let our team of insurance experts help you get the coverage you need, tailored to your business’s specific requirements, and protect your livelihood and business no matter what Mother Nature does.