Despite a winter marked by record extremes, Canadians' self-reported disaster concerns have edged down.
First Onsite Property Restoration’s latest weather and property survey showed concern about severe weather events such as winter storms, flooding and hurricanes softening by five points or more year over year.
That comes after a major swing in insured losses. Industry figures indicated insured damage from severe weather in Canada fell from a record‑breaking total of more than $9 billion in 2024 to about $2.4 billion in 2025, according to CatIQ.
Even so, 2025 still ranked among the top 10 costliest years on record for insured catastrophe losses, with events such as the Ontario and Quebec ice storms, the Flin Flon and La Ronge wildfires, the Calgary hailstorm, severe convective storms across the Prairies and a series of atmospheric rivers in British Columbia driving much of the bill.
The survey also underlined how climate perception and insurance affordability are converging. Roughly seven in 10 Canadians said they are worried about being affected by climate change, and a similar proportion believe climate change is already driving up the cost of their home or business insurance. Wildfire smoke has moved rapidly up the list of concerns, with about 70% of respondents expressing worry, reflecting back‑to‑back summers in which smoke affected air quality in major urban centres far from active fire zones.
Regional risk signals for underwriters and brokers
The regional breakdown in First Onsite’s survey closely tracks the evolving insured‑loss profile and offers useful cues for portfolio strategy and client conversations.
In British Columbia, respondents reported the highest concern nationally around extreme heat and “heat domes”, severe rainfall and flooding, and landslides or mudslides. That highlights the need to keep tightening flood, landslip and wildfire underwriting, as well as to connect coverage, deductibles and limits to mitigation measures in a province still dealing with the legacy of the 2021 heat dome and floods, and more recent wildfire losses.
Alberta leads on concern about hail, wildfire and smoke, echoing its experience as Canada’s “Hailstorm Alley” and the site of multiple billion‑dollar hail losses and large wildfire events. Hail and convective storm risk will remain central to pricing and capacity decisions in the province, alongside continued scrutiny of wildfire exposures around the wildland‑urban interface.
In Manitoba and Saskatchewan, climate change scores lower as a stated concern, but worry about wildfire smoke, winter storms, extreme cold, and tornadoes or severe winds is high. That aligns with CatIQ data showing the Prairies’ vulnerability to straight‑line winds and convective storms.
Ontario and Quebec respondents continue to flag climate change, winter storms and extreme cold as priorities, with a marked rise in concern about wildfire smoke in Ontario after air quality alerts in cities like Toronto. In Quebec, recent ice storms, floods and wildfires are reinforcing concern around multiple peril types at once. That supports the case for more granular zoning, updated peril maps and closer attention to contingent business interruption and supply‑chain impacts.
Atlantic Canada showed a modest easing in hurricane concern after a quieter season, but a sharp rise in anxiety over wildfires and smoke following 2025 fires in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. That suggests wildfire risk can no longer be treated as primarily a Western issue, particularly as warmer, drier conditions extend fire seasons in the East.
Regulation, flood insurance and climate risk management
The survey’s findings land as federal regulators and policymakers push ahead with climate‑related initiatives that will directly affect property writers.
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions’ climate risk guideline is now in force for large, federally regulated insurers, setting expectations around governance, risk management and scenario analysis for physical and transition risks. That is driving more sophisticated use of hazard data, forward‑looking modelling and climate scenarios in underwriting, pricing and capital planning.
At the same time, Ottawa is working with industry to stand up a national flood insurance programme for high‑risk households, to be delivered through existing home insurance channels and backstopped by a federal reinsurance facility. Coupled with national flood mapping and a forthcoming public flood‑risk portal, that initiative is expected to reshape how flood risk is priced, shared and mitigated over the next several years.
The survey also reinforces the value of region‑specific conversations: aligning coverage, limits and deductibles to local peril profiles; emphasizing mitigation and resilience; and explaining how climate‑driven loss experience is influencing underwriting appetite and price.
