Insured Catastrophe Losses From Canadian Ice Storm Estimated At $164M

The historic ice storm in Ontario and Quebec in mid-April could cost the insurance industry more than $150 million in damage claims, Verisk Analytics Inc.’s Property Claim Services unit reported Thursday. PCS’s preliminary estimate of a catastrophe event April 14-16 is $164 million, a PCS spokesperson wrote in an email to Canadian Underwriter. On that weekend, Toronto had been under a flood watch for two days after freezing rain and ice pellets left roads and sidewalks slippery and treacherous. Police responded to more than 1,400 collisions in the GTA and surrounding areas during this period, as reported in the Toronto Star.