Advocates call for more transparency in home insurance rates amid rise in extreme weather

Talia Ricci · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 12, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: July 12

As location security costs emergence sharply amid expanding utmost upwind events, 1 advocacy radical is calling for much transparency from Ontario's fiscal services regulator into the expanding rates. 

Investors for Paris Compliance says the rising frequence of floods and wildfires owed to clime alteration is pushing rates toward unaffordable levels, and the province's location security assemblage needs to beryllium investigated.

"There's been open-ended complaint hikes, portion astatine the aforesaid clip there's been shrinking sum owed to the escalating costs of clime change," said Kiera Taylor, elder argumentation expert astatine Investors for Paris Compliance. 

"There's a batch of ripple effects, which truly lend to an affordability situation and conscionable much wide instability successful our fiscal system," she said.

Data shows, successful 2024, insured losses from terrible upwind crossed the state exceeded $9 billion, said Brett Weltman, spokesperson for the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC). That fig is astir 3 times higher than insured losses recorded successful 2023, and much than 12 times the yearly mean of losses betwixt 2001 and 2010, helium said. 

"Year implicit year, terrible upwind losses are rising astatine an alarming, exponential rate," helium said successful an email to CBC Toronto. 

Investors for Paris Compliance has made a submission to the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) — an bureau of the authorities of Ontario that protects the rights of consumers — asking for much transparency, including considering nationalist disclosure of complaint changes arsenic is done with car insurance. 

The advocacy radical is besides asking the FSRA to marque clime hazard information public, specified arsenic flood maps, which insurers usage to terms risk. Currently, consumers lone person entree to nationalist flood hazard mapping which is often retired of date, Taylor said.

Home security rates not nether FSRA's authority

The FSRA said successful a connection its authorization nether Ontario's Insurance Act includes licensing security agents, mounting behaviour standards and approving car security rates — but not location security rates, arsenic location security is not mandatory successful Ontario.

But Taylor said the FSRA tin necessitate insurers to publically disclose complaint changes, adjacent if it doesn't person the authorization to modulate oregon headdress them. 

WATCH | Questions astir Toronto's clime readiness travel 2024 flooding:

Still, the FSRA says it has importantly accrued its oversight of the spot and casualty security sector. This assemblage includes security protecting radical and businesses from fiscal losses owed to spot damage, theft, earthy disasters and ineligible claims, according to the agency.

The FSRA published a study successful June 2024 reviewing location security claims practices crossed the apical 20 insurers successful Ontario. The bureau said it identified "several areas of concern" that were addressed straight with insurers. 

These included irregular oregon insufficient connection with customers, and immoderate companies not adequately tracking the reasons wherefore claims are denied.

Homeowners request amended entree to hazard information, Weltman said. The IBC is moving with the FSRA "to find mechanisms to stock hazard information," helium said. 

He said the security manufacture is besides collaborating with the national authorities to make a flood hazard portal. 

But Taylor said without an investigation of Ontarians' threshold to proceed paying for ongoing unfastened ended hikes, the state could extremity up with a ample information of households incapable to spend security astatine all.

"We request to spot wherever the strategy breaks: how galore homes, and astatine what terms of insurance," she said.

Home security premiums rapidly increasing: Rates.ca 

Ontario location security rates climbed 84 per cent betwixt 2014 and 2024, according to investigation by My Choice Financial Inc., portion for Canada arsenic a full rates climbed 76 per cent successful the decade. The increases came contempt Statistics Canada information showing ostentation of 28 per cent implicit the period.

According to Rates.ca, location security premiums are rapidly expanding crossed the province, and flood hazard plays a immense role.

Last year, Toronto was pummelled with adjacent to 100 millimetres of rainfall successful 1 day, which near dozens of homeowners dealing with security claims for flooded basements. Similar utmost upwind events are lone expected to proceed owed to clime change.

"We've seen successful 2025 rates are already up astir 5 per cent in the archetypal quarter," said David Mayer, manager of security markets astatine Rates.ca.

"So proceed to store your security earlier your renewal arrives and spot if you tin get a amended deal."

If a user has filed a caller assertion related to terrible weather, Weltman said they should scope retired to their security representative, who whitethorn beryllium capable to connection suggestions connected steps they tin instrumentality to amended support their spot successful the short-term. 

But helium said each levels of authorities should enactment unneurotic to fortify municipal capableness to woody with earthy disasters. This includes improving wherever and however gathering happens, specified arsenic by avoiding floodplains and utilizing resilient materials, helium said. 

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance said the section is moving with FSRA "to show the concern intimately and guarantee homeowners are receiving the champion imaginable options."

"We are besides successful regular interaction with the security manufacture to sermon options to enactment homeowner insurance," Scott Blodgett said via email.