CatIQ, a Toronto-based provider of catastrophe insurance data and a subsidiary of PERILS, released its fifth industry loss estimate for the flooding caused by the remnants of Hurricane Debby, which affected Ontario and Quebec between August 9 and 10, 2024.
The one-year post-event estimate placed insured losses at $2.806 billion, a slight decrease from the fourth estimate of $2.817 billion issued six months after the event. The figure covered property, both commercial and residential, as well as motor claims.
The updated report included a breakdown of property and motor losses by Forward Sortation Area (high-resolution CRESTA Zones). Through CatIQ’s subscriber platform, users could also access meteorological data such as rainfall totals, damage reports, related news, and images from the event.
CatIQ said it would issue a sixth and final market loss update on August 11, 2026, two years after the event.
The remnants of Hurricane Debby moved through the Lower Great Lakes region between August 8 and 10, 2024, delivering over 100 mm of rainfall across a wide area from eastern Lake Ontario through Montreal and along the St. Lawrence River toward Quebec City. Southern Quebec recorded more than 200 mm of rainfall, resulting in widespread flooding and significant damage.
Caroline Floyd, director at CatIQ, said flooding from the remnants of Storm Debby concluded a month of elevated catastrophe losses in Canada, with tens of thousands of claims and billions of dollars in insured losses.
She said that while similar storms in southern Ontario and Quebec had caused significant losses in the past, Debby’s rainfall totals produced losses exceeding previous events, making it the third-costliest insured loss event in Canadian history and the costliest on record for Quebec, even when adjusted for inflation.
Floyd added that the one-year estimate continued to reflect significant impacts in Quebec, with only a slight increase in personal and commercial property damage claims. She noted a small decrease in the average claim value for both property and motor lines, which may indicate some claims had reached coverage limits.
According to CatIQ, more than 95 per cent of personal property claims were closed at the one-year mark, ahead of the closure rate for other major Canadian catastrophes in 2024.
