Storm left $840M of insured losses across Manitoba, Saskatchewan

Severe weather spanning two days in June — hitting both Manitoba and Saskatchewan — has led to at least $840 million in insured losses.

The June 9 and 10 weather is the latest in an increasing number of “catastrophic” events with major insurance payouts, said Rob de Pruis, the Insurance Bureau of Canada’s national director of consumer and industry relations.

The Insurance Bureau didn’t share a breakdown of insured losses by province. Most of the claims cover hail and flood damage, including sewer backups, de Pruis said.

At the time of the storm, Manitoba saw grapefruit-sized hail, torrential downpours and at least one tornado.

Stonewall, Woodlands, Inwood, Petersfield and Selkirk were placed under flood warnings. Some rural municipalities declared states of emergencies.

Tens of thousands of people across Manitoba and Saskatchewan were affected, the Insurance Bureau noted in a news release.

“We’re just seeing more of these events happen, and they’re costing a lot more,” de Pruis said.

The Insurance Bureau deems an event “catastrophic” if it causes at least $30 million in damage. There have been 30 catastrophic events since 2021 — a 140 per cent increase over the previous five years, de Pruis said.

Nationally, the Insurance Bureau has counted 11 catastrophic events in 2026. Five of those have impacted Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Wildfires, flooding, hail and wind last year led to $760 million in insured losses between the two provinces.

“(It) will absolutely put pressure on people’s insurance premiums in the future,” de Pruis said. “Premiums of the many are paying for the claims of the few.

“But what we’re seeing are those claims of the few are becoming more and more, and those claims are costing more and more.”

Other factors, including a customer’s previous claims, contribute to individual premium prices.

Grant Wainikka, chief executive of the Insurance Brokers Association of Manitoba, said he expects June loss numbers to increase “significantly” once the final figures for the province’s disaster financial assistance program come in.

“Extreme weather is an ongoing concern,” Wainikka wrote in a statement. “This will continue to have a very real and material impact in many families and communities across the province.”

Both he and de Pruis urged loss prevention, such as retrofit incentives, Crown land management and strengthened building codes.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com