Total insured losses from catastrophic events across Canada reached CAN $8.5 billion in 2024, marking the country’s largest loss year on record, according to CatIQ, Canada’s provider of insured loss and exposure indices.
This insured loss figure significantly surpassed the previous record of CAN $6.2 billion set in 2016.
The total number of catastrophe claims also surged, surpassing 273,000 in 2024—a substantial increase from the previous record of 197,000 in 2016.
Although the number of catastrophic events in 2024 matched the annual average of 12, four events each generated losses of CAN $1 billion or more, solidifying 2024 as a record-breaking year, CatIQ reported.
In under a month, four of Canada’s top-ten costliest events were recorded: the Calgary Hailstorm (2nd costliest), remnants of Hurricane Debby (3rd), Jasper Wildfire (9th), and Southern Ontario Flooding (10th).
Laura Twidle, President and CEO of CatIQ, commented, “The Canadian insurance industry has experienced back-to-back challenging years after a record-shattering number of catastrophes (24) in 2023, and four events which combined exceeded CAN $7.5 billion in just 27 days in 2024. There is a clear need for continued collaboration to address the growing scale and frequency of catastrophe events across Canada but, more importantly, concerted action to mitigate the impacts of these events.”
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