The hail and windstorms that swept across parts of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba on June 12 caused more than $45 million in insured damage, according to the preliminary estimate by Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ).
The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) said in a statement on Thursday that the storms brought wind gusting as strong as 116 kilometres per hour, with hail up to 6 centimetres in diameter reported throughout Medicine Hat, Alta. and surrounding areas.
The storm also knocked down and damaged many trees in the area and as many as 4,000 people lost power, the IBC reported.
Similar to Alberta, Saskatchewan experienced up to 6-cm diameter hail, powerful winds and heavy rain.
The most significant damage occurred across the southern part of the province, in an area from Fox Valley, near the Alberta border, to Carlyle and Storthoaks in the province’s far southeast. Claims were also reported in Manitoba, south of Moose Jaw, Sask., around Lafleche and Assiniboia, and extending eastward to Crane Valley, Ogema, Radville and Pangman.
The majority of claims reported were the result of hail damage to vehicles, residences and commercial buildings.
“In 2014, weather-related damage in the Prairies alone resulted in more than half a billion dollars in insured losses,” said Bill Adams, vice president, Western and Pacific, IBC, in the statement. “The insurance industry continues to speak to all levels of government about the need to continue investing in infrastructure to make communities more resilient to increasingly frequent and severe weather events.”
Toronto-based CatIQ compiles and combines comprehensive insured loss amounts and related information to serve the risk management needs of the insurance and reinsurance industries.
The IBC, also based in Toronto, is the national industry association representing Canada’s private home, auto and business insurers. Its member companies make up 90% of the property and casualty insurance market in the country.