‘Historic’ Ontario snowfall’s impact on claims…so far

As Toronto and its surrounding area dig out from what some reports are calling the biggest single-day snowfall in the city’s history, municipalities are beginning to tally disruption, damage and at least one death.

Ontario’s provincial police reported about 200 vehicle collisions due to the snow, according to news reports, one of which was fatal.

Clearing the roads is expected to take some time and Greg Smith, president and CEO of Crawford & Company, Canada, tells CU there are reports of road salt being in short supply in the GTA and that the extreme cold will make cleanup more challenging because it reduces the effectiveness of salt on snow and ice.

He also expects the number of reported accidents will increase during the next few days. “We anticipate a significant number of automobile claims to be reported to insurers as a result of this event – however with lots of advance warning that the storm was coming and the timing on a weekend, it’s likely less severe than a surprise event occurring on a weekday,” Smith says.

Meanwhile, Sedgwick notes it has seen activity tied to trucking-related losses. “While we expect auto claims to rise, the advance weather warnings encouraged many people to stay home, which helped limit accident volume,” says Kumar Siva, Sedgwick’s chief operating officer in Canada.

Environment Canada says Toronto’s city centre racked up 56 cm of snow and Pearson airport saw 46 cm. Canada’s weather agency adds Toronto has now seen 88.2 cm of snowfall so far in January — the highest since record keeping began in 1937.

Frigid temperatures from a polar vortex meant the Jan. 25 snow did not change to freezing rain, as happened in many U.S. regions. During January, storms also contributed to power outages in parts of Quebec and Nova Scotia.

Claims impact

So far, weather events haven’t added up to a claims spike, say industry sources.

For the Greater Toronto Area, the region’s record-breaking snowfall led to significant travel disruptions and school and business closures, says Shannon Hoyt, ClaimsPro’s vice president for Central Canada. There was also frequent and robust messaging from Ontario’s government and local municipalities advising motorists to stay off the roads.

“From a claims perspective, however, reported volumes remained relatively stable through the weekend. That said, this was not a ‘normal’ Toronto snowfall event, and it would be reasonable to expect a material uptick in auto claims as delayed reporting comes in and as vehicles return to the roads,” Hoyt tells CU.

“On the property side, the impact remains unclear at this stage, with potential issues more likely to emerge during melt conditions – roof loading, ice damming, seepage.”

Also in the news: Are liability claims taking a chunk out of commercial insurers’ profitability?

Looking forward, Smith says he expects homeowners’ claims resulting from this snowstorm will include frozen pipes causing water damage or ice-damming of eavestroughs causing water to get behind a homes’ shingles.

“However we often see a lag between the snow event and claims reporting as the damage may take some time to manifest itself and in some cases will only appear as temperatures increase and the frozen pipes or ice-dams begin to melt,” he says. “Another consideration for homeowners is snow-load damage to roofs caused by the weight of all the now that has fallen – many insurers advise homeowners to safely remove excess snow from their roofs to engage a qualified contractor to assist.”

Adds Michael Connolly, ClaimsPro’s vice president for Atlantic Canada: “While the snowfall in Toronto was exceptional by local standards, it does not yet resemble the scale or loss characteristics of major winter catastrophes.

“At this point, it is better viewed as a significant operational disruption event with a likely lagging auto impact, rather than a confirmed large-scale property loss event. More meaningful comparisons will depend on what emerges during thaw conditions. We’ll continue to monitor [claims] volumes closely over the coming days.”

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Quebec outlook

Although snowfall was heavy in parts of Quebec, the storm was “not outside historical norms” for the province, notes Sonia Ryme, vice president for IndemniPro in Quebec.

“At this point, no measurable increase in claim volume has been observed. A small number of emergency calls were received, but these were largely minor and directive in nature,” she says.

“As with Ontario, any meaningful change in volume would typically become clearer within 12-to-24 hours following the event.”

Phil Porado

Phil, an award-winning journalist with over 30 years of experience in financial topics, has been managing editor of Canadian Underwriter for more than three years.