Forest fires, hail and floods during the summer in Canada have caused the bill for insurers to rise to an unprecedented level in 2024, exceeding 8.5 billion Canadian dollars (5.35 billion francs), announced Monday the Insurance Bureau of Canada.
This figure is 12 times higher than the annual average of $701 million recorded during the decade 2001-2010. The previous record of $6 billion dated from 2016, a year marked by the Fort McMurray forest fires in the center of the country.
As in many other countries, 2024 is expected to be the hottest year in Canada. Scientists point out that climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme weather events.
“In just two months, in July and August, four catastrophic weather events resulted in more than $7 billion in insured losses,” the organization said in a press release.
Thus, the large emblematic park of Jasper located in the Canadian Rockies was hit in July by a powerful forest fire, which forced the evacuation of 25,000 people.
And a few days later, at the beginning of August, violent storms and hail ravaged part of the city of Calgary (central-west), a climatic disaster which cost insurance companies 3 billion Canadian dollars.
“These events are escalating at a breakneck pace and Canada is simply not ready,” said Celyeste Power, president of the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), in the press release.
The latter specifies that during the summer, there were approximately 228,000 insurance claims, which represents “an increase of 406% compared to the 20-year average”.
“As devastating wildfires rage in California, where the insurability of homes is truly at risk, Canada’s property insurers are sounding the alarm that some regions of the country could face similar challenges,” warns again the Insurance Bureau of Canada.
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