CatIQ, a Toronto-based independent catastrophe insurance data provider and a subsidiary of PERILS, announced that insured losses from catastrophe events across Canada in 2025 will total $2.4 billion.
According to the Institute for Catastrophe Loss Reduction (ICLR), uninsured losses reached another $1 billion, bringing total losses to society for the year to $3.4 billion.
The insured loss figure makes 2025 Canada’s ninth-largest loss year on record, the lowest annual loss total of the past five years and well below the record-breaking $9.1 billion set in 2024.
Although 2025 was an average year in terms of total losses, it ranked second for the number of disasters declared, second for ice storm losses, and first for fire-related disasters.
The costliest event in 2025 was the ice storm that struck Ontario and Quebec in late March, accounting for nearly a quarter of annual insured losses, amounting to C$490 million. CatIQ released its fourth industry loss estimate for the event in September 2025. The storm is now the second costliest on record, behind only the 1998 ice storm, which caused an estimated $2.3 billion in damage.
“While 2025 is a welcome respite following the record-breaking losses of 2024, data shows this is anything but an ‘average’ year,” said CatIQ President and CEO Laura Twidle. “We are seeing fire-related CATs announced The largest number, and perhaps more notably, these events are occurring in provinces that have never seen an industrial fire disaster before. The events come on the heels of a series of quiet disasters early this year in southern Ontario and southern Quebec that were linked to snowfall and melt, culminating in a major ice storm that caused nearly a quarter of the year’s damage. A total of 17 disasters this year now ranks second in the number of declared disasters, demonstrating that even a “slow” year can bring challenges.
“Extreme disasters cost Canadians billions of dollars in insured and uninsured losses each year. In 2025, this includes winter storm and wildfire losses across the country. In 2024, this includes floods, hail and wildfires. That is not the case. Small investments in proven protection can reduce or prevent most losses,” said ICLR Executive Director Paul Kovacs.