A year after a record-breaking hailstorm swept through Calgary, insurers are calling for urgent government intervention to address what they describe as unsustainable pressure on Alberta’s insurance market, both in terms of escalating climate-related property losses and a worsening auto insurance system.
The August 2024 storm caused over $3 billion in insured damage, making it the second-costliest natural disaster in Canadian history. According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), nearly half of those claims, or about 70,000, were for damaged vehicles, adding roughly $1 billion in losses to Alberta’s already strained auto insurance market.
“This was a traumatic event for tens of thousands of residents,” said Aaron Sutherland, vice-president, Pacific and Western, IBC. “It also underscored the growing financial stress being placed on insurers as extreme weather events become more frequent and more severe.”
The storm was one in a long string of costly natural disasters affecting Alberta. The province, which includes parts of Canada’s so-called “Hail Alley,” has experienced at least one major hailstorm annually for the past two decades. In the last five years alone, insured hail losses have reached $5.5 billion.
Most recently, a July 2025 hailstorm triggered a fresh wave of claims, with insured losses expected to exceed $30 million. These recurring catastrophes, insurers argue, are exposing vulnerabilities in both urban infrastructure and public policy.
Insurers are urging the Alberta government to reintroduce the Resilient Roofing Rebate Program, which previously helped homeowners upgrade to hail-resistant materials. They are also calling for mandatory resilient construction standards in high-risk zones and improved severe weather alert systems to give residents time to protect property.
However, property coverage is only part of the concern.
Insurers say the current regulatory environment in Alberta's auto insurance market is compounding financial instability. Since 2021, auto insurance rates have been frozen or capped below the cost of providing coverage. As a result, Alberta insurers paid out $1.20 in claims and expenses for every $1 earned in premiums in 2024.
“This is not sustainable,” Sutherland said. “If the cost of providing coverage continues to exceed the premiums insurers are allowed to charge, it will jeopardize the availability of coverage for consumers.”
Insurers have already begun restricting the sale of auto coverage in the province. IBC warns that without reform, more drivers could find it difficult to secure insurance. This comes at a time when severe weather, higher vehicle repair costs, and rising claims frequency are all driving up insurers’ expenses.
The Alberta government’s Care-First reforms are intended to improve the system by controlling legal costs and streamlining claims processes. However, IBC argues that unless insurers are allowed to charge actuarially sound rates, the reforms may fall short of restoring financial stability.
“Alberta’s auto insurance system is in crisis,” said Sutherland. “We need to remove the rate cap and implement the Care-First reforms effectively, particularly the measures aimed at reining in litigation.”
At a national level, IBC continues to press for coordinated disaster resilience efforts, including flood and wildfire mitigation, homeowner risk education, and retrofit subsidies. The group has also renewed its call for a federal agency dedicated to emergency management, which remains a gap in Canada compared to its G7 peers.
“Insurers are doing what they can to support communities, but we can’t do it alone,” Sutherland said. “A proactive, long-term approach is needed to ensure both the insurability and affordability of coverage across the country.”
