By Canadian Press

Extreme weather risk changing Canada’s insurance industry, raising costs

Aug 4, 2023 | 11:03 AM

OTTAWA — The rash of extreme weather that has hit most parts of Canada in recent years is driving up insurance rates, as climate change is rapidly changing the risk profile in many parts of the country.

Insurance Bureau of Canada vice-president Craig Stewart says global reinsurance companies that cover much of the policy risk in Canada increased their Canadian premiums between 25 and 100 per cent last fall.

He says not all of that was passed on to consumers, but unusually high premium hikes are being seen in the West and parts of Atlantic Canada in particular.

Statistics Canada says that in June, the year-over-year price increase to home insurance was 11.9 per cent in Nova Scotia, 10.3 per cent in B.C. and 9.7 per cent in Alberta.

Stewart says some tourism and hospitality operators in B.C. are struggling to get insurance at all because the risks to their businesses are just too high to make insurance affordable.

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He says the problem hasn’t yet expanded to personal property insurance, but that is a possibility, as climate change is increasing risks “quicker than anyone imagined.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 4, 2023.

The Canadian Press