Takeaway: As climate change increases the frequency, severity, and unpredictability of extreme weather events, insurance companies are covering less and less of the costs. When climate change comes knocking, who pays for the damage? Increasingly, the answer is: not insurance. A report, released in June 2026 by Statistics Canada, “Extreme weather impacts on consumers and insurers in Canada, December 2019 to December 2025: An updated analysis,” (1) finds that extreme weather events are becoming more frequent, more severe and more costly, placing sustained pressure on Canadian insurers and homeowners alike. Among the report’s highlights: According to estimates from Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc.(2), severe weather across Canada caused more than C$3.7 bn ($2.63 bn) in insured losses in summer 2026, the country’s third-costliest summer on record. As well, four of Canada’s five most expensive summers for insured weather damage have occurred in the past six years, a mark of steadily rising catastrophe costs for insurers, households and businesses. Without stronger risk reduction measures Canadians will continue to face rising insurance costs and growing exposure to loss. Globally, Munich Re reported total losses of ~$320 billion and insured losses of ~$140 billion globally. Insured losses in 2024 were among the highest ever recorded and significantly above long‑term norms. (3) Though down from exceptionally high 2024 totals, 2025 insured losses far exceed long‑term averages (10‑year).(4) In October 2026 group of senior UK and European insurance and reinsurance professionals has warned that escalating climate-related losses could undermine property insurance availability, destabilise mortgage markets and create systemic financial risks comparable to those that contributed to the global financial crisis. (5) In a memorandum titled “Sounding the Alarm“, Inside Track x (Re)Insurance argues that the industry’s current approach to managing physical climate risks could leave growing numbers of households and businesses without affordable coverage. (6) None of this is inevitable. Canada and our global partners have the technology, the wealth and the knowledge to transition off fossil fuels, and to do so quickly. What is missing is not capability but will. Until polluters are made to pay for the damage they cause, the escalating price of “our uninsurable world” will keep landing on the people who can least afford it. References (2) Keller, Y. (2026, October 27). Canada’s summer 2026 severe weather insured losses exceed C$3.7 bn – CatIQ. Beinsure News. https://beinsure.com/news/canada-severe-weather-insured-losses/ (3) Munich Re. (2025, January 9). Climate change is showing its claws: The world is getting hotter, resulting in severe hurricanes, thunderstorms and floods [Media release]. https://www.munichre.com/en/company/media-relations/media-information-and-corporate-news/media-information/2025/natural-disaster-figures-2024.item-df873f6119f0560589587db3dcd8e798.html (4) Kyllmann, C. (2026, January 13). Adapting to climate risks essential as losses reach $224 bln in 2025 – Munich Re. Clean Energy Wire. https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/adapting-climate-risks-essential-losses-reach-224-bln-2025-munich-re (5) Inside Track x (Re)Insurance. (2026, October 14). Sounding the alarm [Memo]. https://www.insidetrack.org.uk/releases/insurance-climate-risk (6) Younger, N. (2026, October 14). Sounding the alarm [Memo by Inside Track x (Re)Insurance]. Inside Track. https://www.insidetrack.org.uk/releases/insurance-climate-risk Source: https://earth.org/financial-storm-how-escalating-climate-events-are-reshaping-the-insurance-market/ Our Uninsurable World
(1) McGillivray, M. (2026, June 16). Extreme weather impacts on consumers and insurers in Canada, December 2019 to December 2025: An updated analysis (Analysis in Brief, No. 11-621-M). Statistics Canada. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/11-621-m/11-621-m2026007-eng.pdf
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