Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), the national industry association representing Canadian private home, auto and business insurers, has blamed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s for failing to protect property owners from climate-related disasters during 2024.
“After the costliest summer in Canadian history, with almost $8 billion in insured losses due to floods, hail and wildfires, the Trudeau government has once again failed to invest in climate adaptation and resilience measures that are needed to keep Canadians safe,” said IBC President and CEO Celyeste Power. “This week’s Fall Economic Statement (FES) also demonstrates a broken commitment made in Budget 2024 to implement a national flood insurance program for high-risk households by 2025. Needed funding to stand up a subsidiary of CMHC by April 1 was not included in the FES.”
Power noted that while the Department of Finance Canada has been “studying the flood insurance program for most of the past decade, the Canadian property and casualty (P&C) insurance industry has developed a range of overland flood insurance products that are now available to over 90% of Canadian homeowners. As the risks of flooding increase, the P&C insurance industry has paid out over $9 billion in flood-related claims since 2015. Nearly $4 billion of that was paid out this past summer alone.”
Power added that 1.5 million Canadian households were at high risk of flooding but have not been able to access flood insurance for their properties. She noted that private sector insurers offered to create a partnership with government agencies on a specialized flood insurance program, but the Trudeau administration has yet to take up this offer.
“Furthermore, the Trudeau government has neglected to commit new funding for climate adaptation measures that would build resilience in the communities that are continually being hit hardest by severe weather events, including wildfires,” she continued. “Instead, it has chosen to direct hundreds of millions in funding toward climate measures that will have no impact on protecting homes against floods and wildfires today. To exacerbate the problem, their new housing plan will also create new risks for communities and households for decades to come, by encouraging new building on flood plains and in other high-risk areas while giving no thought to building homes and infrastructure to withstand our current and changing climate. IBC and the P&C insurance industry are disappointed in the lack of urgency shown by the government on this serious issue that has impacted hundreds of thousands of Canadians this year.”
Photo: Province of British Columbia / Flickr Creative Commons