Canadian Insured storm losses top $1B in 2012

Canadian insurance companies paid out almost $1.2 billion in storm-related claims this year, according to figures released Tuesday by the Insurance Bureau of Canada. That’s down from the $1.7 billion in insured damage seen in 2011. It’s the third time in four years that losses have reached the billion-dollar level, IBC says, as severe weather events become more common. "The largest of the events in 2012 was the wind, flooding and hail storms that battered Calgary and surrounding areas this past August," said IBC Alberta director Heather Mack in a statement. An updated toll of those storms has pegged insured damage to homes, cars, and businesses at $552 million.