Severe weather last year exacted a heavy toll in terms of insured losses, with the $4.9 billion hit dwarfing the previous annual record of $3.2 billion in 2013, Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) reports.
Stormy Weather Ahead Road Sign Flooding in southern Alberta and the Greater Toronto Area contributed greatly to 2013’s then-record insurable damage, while 2016 was highlighted by the massive wildfires in and around Fort McMurray.
The latest estimate from Catastrophe Indices and Quantification (CatIQ) indicates insured losses related to the wildfire amount to just shy of $3.6 billion.
This is more than twice the amount of the previous costliest natural disaster on record, IBC noted in a statement Friday.
(photo from the CADO gallery)