'Vast majority' of $75M in damage claims from July 15 storm occurred in Barrie

The vast majority of the estimated $75 million in insured damage caused by a series of tornadoes in Ontario last month was in Barrie, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC).

Roofs and siding were torn off houses, vehicles were tossed about and trampolines ended up crushed and in neighbours’ yards when an EF2 tornado tore through a southeast Barrie neighbourhood July 15.

“This figure may also change in the future as more data and estimates come in,” said Gloria Haydock, IBC’s manager of consumer and industry relations. “The vast majority of the damages are in Barrie.”

Some agricultural buildings as well as houses were damaged as other EF2 tornadoes hit largely rural and forested areas east and north of Lake Simcoe that day. The Barrie tornado also damaged homes in Sandycove Acres in neighbouring Innisfil.

According to IBC, Canadian insurers have averaged about $2.1 billion a year in losses related to severe weather during the past decade. That’s up dramatically from around $399 million between 1983 to 2000 in today’s dollars.

In Ontario, insured losses have averaged more than $510 million from 2011 to 2020, four times higher than in the period from 1983 to 2010.

Haydock says the IBC has been pressing governments to work toward better preparing communities against severe weather.

“Canada’s warming at twice the rate of the rest of the world,” said Haydock. “We are seeing more frequency and severity as far as wind-driven claims as well as fire and water.

“That’s going to continue to increase unless we really advocate and press government to take steps and that’s what the IBC has been doing and continues to do," she added. 

There’s been a movement to prioritize investment in resilience to react to the changing climate, such as more protections for built structures.

Earlier this month, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued a dire ‘code red for humanity’ warning that extreme weather will only get worse.

The federal government also released the National Adaptation Strategy Consultation Report committed to finalizing a national strategy by fall 2022.

IBC indicated it is looking for clear and evidence-informed objectives, targets and indicators that can measure progress and help strengthen the business case for adaptation.