May 21, 2025 — The Geneva Association has warned in a report that as extreme weather becomes more frequent and destructive, access to affordable home insurance is under growing pressure in many parts of the world — including Canada.
The report, titled ‘Safeguarding Home Insurance: Reducing Exposure and Vulnerability to Extreme Weather,’ identifies mounting weather-related risks and inflation-driven rebuilding costs as key factors that could push home insurance past an affordability tipping-point in some regions.
“Extreme weather is no longer a future threat; it’s disrupting lives and businesses today. But we’re not powerless,” said Jad Ariss, managing director of the association.
“By urgently investing in stronger local building standards, nature-based solutions, and climate-resilient infrastructure, we can protect people and property and keep home insurance available and affordable.”
The association, a non-profit, international think tank for the global insurance industry, said insured losses from natural catastrophes have exceeded US$100bn every year since 2020, with 2024 losses expected to reach US$140bn.
It said that figure could rise to US$200bn this year.
The report focuses on five advanced economies, Canada, the U.S., the EU, Australia and Japan, and outlines a two-tier strategy to safeguard the insurability of homes.
First, it urges local governments and insurers to scale up proven resilience measures such as retrofitting vulnerable homes, updating zoning laws and enforcing modern building codes.
Second, it calls for structural reforms to mortgage lending and insurance-linked credit ratings to reward resilient construction and planning.
In Canada, the report noted that while average home insurance premiums rose 7.66% between 2023 and 2024, certain provinces saw increases of up to 12%.
The association said risk-based pricing is necessary to maintain a functioning insurance market but without broader resilience investments, the result may be growing protection gaps where coverage is no longer affordable or even available.
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