Damage cost from summer hailstorm in Calgary just shot WAY up
Alberta is no stranger to hailstorms that wreak havoc on property, and the hail damage incurred by a storm that rolled through Calgary earlier this summer just received a major price increase.
According to new data from Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ), insured damage from a hailstorm that swept through Calgary on July 13, 2025, has almost doubled initial estimates.
Original estimates pegged insured damage at $92 million; however, that total increased to $164 million – a 78 per cent increase – with commercial losses increasing significantly in the latest estimate. Damage to vehicles represented more than half of all claims resulting from the storm.
“It’s been another catastrophic year for hailstorms in Alberta,” said Aaron Sutherland, vice president for the Pacific and Western regions at the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC). “The July 13 Calgary hailstorm caused significant damage to vehicles, homes and businesses. Alberta has now experienced at least one major hailstorm every year for the past two decades – including last year’s record $3.2 billion hailstorm that hit Calgary.”
Sutherland added that due to the frequent hailstorms impacting the province, it has resulted in more than $10 billion in insured damage. Damage from hailstorms over the past five years has accounted for $6 billion of that total.
A significant portion of the claims from July’s hailstorm were for vehicle damage, which underscores the growing pressure that severe weather is placing on Alberta’s already strained auto insurance system.
The IBC added that auto insurance premiums in Alberta are now far below the cost of providing auto insurance coverage, with auto insurers paying out $1.20 in claims and expenses for every $1 they earned in premiums in 2024.
The IBC also pointed to the major hailstorm that struck the Brooks area on Aug. 20, 2025, which also caused significant damage, with an initial estimate of the cost of that event available in the coming weeks.
Sutherland noted that claims from the damage of both these storms will take time to resolve, but that insurance will support their customers every step of the way.
“There will be a high demand for contractors to fix siding and roofs, and a high demand for replacement vehicles and auto body repairs. This will add additional cost pressures on Alberta’s challenging insurance market, but rest assured, our industry will be there to help Albertans recover as quickly as possible,” said Sutherland.