Assessing the viability of overland flood insurance: the Canadian residential property market

The purpose of this report is to understand the viability of overland flood insurance in Canada by considering the risks and opportunities for the property and casualty insurance industry. It addresses the gap in research on the topic utilizing structured interviews with senior executives of Canada’s largest insurance companies regarding their perspective towards flood insurance.

The report first provides some background on the debate about the viability of flood insurance in Canada. Accordingly, section one examines the existing Canadian flood recovery system, the impacts of flooding in Canada, and challenges of developing a viable private flood insurance product. The second section is divided into three subsections that discuss insurer opinion on: (i) the major risks to the viability of flood insurance and potential consequences for insurers; (ii) opportunities associated with flood insurance; and (iii) strategies used by other countries to ensure flood insurance remains viable. The fourth section summarizes the main findings of this analysis. The fifth section offers some practical next steps to advance dialogue on the issue, followed by the conclusion.