After more than $11 billion in severe weather losses, Canadian businesses are learning that catastrophe risk is no longer driven just by rare events, but frequent, overlapping perils. Drawing on recent hail, wildfire, and flood claims, Leah Wood outlines the claims lessons businesses can’t afford to ignore – from speed and documentation to vendor readiness, valuation accuracy, and practical resilience that reduces downtime and loss severity.
Catastrophic losses are no longer rare. More than $11 billion in insured losses from severe weather events between 2024 and 2025 show that the real challenge for businesses isn’t just the size of losses – it’s how often these events are hitting, across more regions, with multiple perils at once.
According to Leah Wood, Director, Claims & Loss Control at Acera Insurance, the reality businesses are facing is a pattern of rising frequency and increasing scale of losses that are compounded by overlapping perils.
In this article, Leah shares what the past few years have revealed about claims readiness and recovery, and how businesses can prepare for what comes next.
First catastrophe claims lesson: Speed beats perfection
Ensuring that your vendors are prepared should be a fundamental element of any risk management strategy. When severe weather events strike, there is often a significant strain on available resources, including vendors and adjusters.
Reducing downtime through proactive partnerships
Delays compound loss severity and downtime for businesses. By prioritizing vendor readiness and establishing relationships with reliable service providers ahead of time, commercial clients can significantly improve their outcomes after a catastrophe. Fast action helps mitigate losses and accelerates the recovery process, allowing operations to resume sooner and with less disruption.
“Claims rarely occur during regular business hours. They often happen at inconvenient times – overnight, on weekends, or when you’re not prepared.”
– Leah Wood
Streamlining claims with organized records
Maintaining in-depth and organized records prior to a natural catastrophe is crucial for facilitating a swift restoration and repair process. When a catastrophic event occurs, insurers and adjusters must assess urgency and coverage across numerous claims simultaneously. Businesses that keep up-to-date site photos, detailed logs, invoices and “before” records will be able to navigate the claims process quicker.
Why water damage causes most claims to grow in catastrophe situations
Whether it’s hail, wildfire or flood events, water damage is the biggest issue for catastrophe claims. It’s often the hidden driver of severity with mold risk, damage and downtime.
Wildfire claims: Access restrictions and contamination
Even during wildfires, water can be a significant source of damage due to contaminants entering the water system, compromised pipes, erosion and runoff. Wildfire can also cause access restrictions which can slow down recovery times.
Flood claims: Coverage wording and downtime risk
Flooding, whether it’s from flash floods or pluvial flooding, can be especially disruptive because of what the water has come into contact with along its path. Drying time and demolition decisions directly affect downtime and flood claims coverage can vary by wording depending on the policy, such as distinctions between overland water and sewer backup.
Hail claims: High volume, hidden water damage
Even perils with seemingly predictable effects, like hail, often result in hidden water intrusion that extends repair timelines and business interruptions due to the high-volume of claims, repeat damage and water entry. Hail also creates huge repair pressure — Calgary’s 2024 hailstorm generated 130,000+ claims and pushed insured loss estimates to about $3.25 billion, which strained trades amid sourcing the materials needed to repair the damages.
Steps to take for a fast and successful claim in a catastrophe response
It can be easy to feel overwhelmed at the beginning of the claims process, especially following a large natural catastrophe. To be successful, you need to move quickly. Claims advisors will focus on the first 48 hours to get clear coverage path early so decisions don’t stall.
Your checklist for the first 72 hours should include:
First 24 hours
- Making sure your site is safe by limiting access and ensuring all power, gas and water are shut off.
- Taking steps to minimize further damage by removing standing water, boarding up doors and covering windows with tarps.
- Documenting all damage before cleanup begins. Take photos and videos, keep all receipts and maintain detailed records and inventory of all damaged property and restorative work being done.
- Contacting your insurer as soon as possible to start the claims process. Keep your records tidy and well-organized so you can easily supply any documentation needed during the repair and restoration process.
Next 48-72 hours
- Confirm the plan with all vendors: restoration, glazing, roofing and temporary power.
- Separate “emergency work” from “permanent repair.”
- Keep a downtime log (what’s closed, what’s partial, what’s reopened).
Even when conditions aren’t ideal, taking early ownership of your business’s catastrophe response before adjusters and vendors arrive can help set you up for success moving forward.
Repair queue management, supply chain disruption and planning for delays
Even with a robust disaster recovery plan, delays are sometimes unavoidable. These setbacks often result from supply chain disruptions, limited availability of tradespeople and adjusters overwhelmed by multiple regions at once.
“We can’t stop the weather, but we can plan for it.”
Leah Wood
Strategies to minimize business interruption
To help reduce potential business interruption, you should develop a comprehensive response plan that includes:
- Pre-selecting restoration, roofing and mechanical vendors to ensure quick access to services when disaster strikes.
- Having established after-hours response expectations with your vendors so that urgent repairs can begin without delays.
- Developing a triage plan for which parts of the business must reopen first.
- Regularly reviewing and updating your response plan with your staff so that they are prepared and know the immediate steps that need to be taken following a catastrophe.
Understanding catastrophe claims expectations
One of the greatest challenges in catastrophe claims is managing expectations. It is important to remember that delays are generally caused by capacity strain rather than disputes over coverage. This is particularly true as natural events increasingly occur at the same time across multiple regions, placing greater pressure on all parties involved in the claims and repair processes.
The perils of underinsurance and outdated property valuations
Underinsurance is seldom obvious until disaster strikes. When a catastrophic event occurs, outdated declared values on insurance policies can lead to co-insurance penalties and insufficient coverage limits when you need your protection the most.
Furthermore, unclear policy wording, particularly regarding water damage and business interruption, can result in unexpected coverage gaps.
Understanding true replacement costs
Many property owners are caught off guard by the true replacement costs needed to fully rebuild after a catastrophe. While your building may be insured, it is crucial to consider the additional expenses that are often required, including:
- Demolition costs
- Debris removal
- Permits and planning costs
- Rebuilds in remote locations
- Professional fees
- Code upgrades
- Business interruption
As claims remain open for extended periods, expenses tend to escalate. Therefore, it is essential to account for permit, building and municipal delays, which can significantly increase your overall costs. Proactive planning and accurate policy valuations help avoid these pitfalls and support a smoother recovery process following a catastrophe.
Fraud risks rises when stress is high
Fraud spikes when people are stressed out and trying to reopen fast. Red flags to look out for include:
- Pressure to sign contracts immediately
- Vague scopes of work
- Duplicate invoicing
- Inflated drying/equipment delays
- Discouraging insurer involvement
You can protect you business by selecting reputable vendors and defining clear scopes of work. Implement a straightforward approval process and ensure invoices correspond with photographic evidence and site logs. Your insurer can also provide a list of pre-vetted vendors to better support you and help avoid fraud.
Resilience strategies don’t have to be expensive
There are simple steps that every business can take to be prepared at the beginning of every natural catastrophe season. These are simple, easy and inexpensive loss prevention steps to take for weather related perils. Remember, consistency is key.
“Resilience doesn’t have to be expensive – it just has to be consistent.”
Leah Wood
Hail risk mitigation
- Regularly clean and remove debris from your gutters to ensure proper drainage.
- Install protective shields or screens to protect any rooftop equipment and skylights.
- Ensure your equipment, vehicles and other valuable items are stored in a covered building, wherever possible, to avoid damage during a hailstorm
Water loss prevention
- Seal off your building by filling cracks and framing joints with waterproof sealant.
- Make sure there is no water staining or mould around windows and doors, at major walls joints and where walls meet the ground.
- Install a sump pump (preferably with a battery or generator as a backup in case the power goes out) and a sewer backup valve.
- Ensure any drainage systems extend at least two metres from your property.
Wildfire readiness
- Install and maintain fire suppression equipment.
- Utilize fire-resistant materials.
- Ensure emergency services have access to your property.
- Properly store all combustible materials.
- Perform ongoing landscaping maintenance and vegetation management.
We’re here to support you with comprehensive planning for business protection
Protecting your business, employees and assets requires thorough and comprehensive planning. By taking the right steps to mitigate risk, developing a catastrophe response plan, keeping detailed and organized records, and ensuring vendor readiness, you are positioning your business for long-term success.
Be certain your business is ready for the next round of extreme weather — connect with an Acera Insurance advisor today to review your coverage and strengthen your risk management plan.
FAQs
Wildfires, hail and flooding are the top drivers – often clustered as “severe weather events.” They’re increasing in frequency and severity, which means more property damage, longer business interruption and higher catastrophe (CAT) losses for commercial property insurance.
Document everything with photos/video, damaged inventory lists, invoices and temporary repair receipts. Prevent further damage (board‑ups, water extraction), keep a simple claim log and notify your broker/insurer quickly so adjusters and restoration vendors can mobilize.
Define roles, notification trees and trigger points; line up critical vendors (roofers, restoration, power, fuel, IT) in advance. Add backup power and data recovery, supplier diversification, emergency communications and site‑specific procedures for wildfires, hail, and flooding to cut downtime and claims costs.
Related reading
- How builder’s risk insurance covers soft costs and delays
- Need to Know: Climate Change & Property Insurance
- How accurate property valuations protect your business
Leah Wood, FCIP, CRM, is Director, Claims & Loss Control at Acera Insurance. She brings 25 years of experience across claims and independent adjusting, as well as in-house loss prevention and risk management. Leah works with clients and internal teams to identify recurring loss drivers, strengthen readiness, and reduce the impact of complex events through practical risk management and post-loss guidance.
Interested in learning more? Connect with Leah Wood today at leah.wood@acera.ca or 604.828.9476.
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