$1.9B in insured damage in Canada last year, says industry association

OTTAWA – The Insurance Bureau of Canada says severe weather caused $1.9 billion in insured damage last year.

The national industry association says it’s the fourth-highest amount of losses on record, but no single event caused the high total for 2018.

It highlights smaller events across Canada, including $410 million in damages from a windstorm in Ontario and Quebec in early May, and $240 million from summer storms across the Prairies.

IBC spokesman Craig Stewart says in a statement that climate change is costing Canadian taxpayers, government and businesses billions of dollars annually.

The association says it’s advocating for more investment in new infrastructure protecting communities from floods and fires, improved building codes and other measures.

The dollar figure comes from data from Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc.