Hurricane Debby and the upcoming increase in insurance premiums, eventually?

The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) announced that Hurricane Debby caused $2.5 billion in historic insured damages, an amount never seen before. 
 
Any major event has an impact on insurance premiums. 
 
According to Applied Systems®, quarter-over-quarter, the change in premium rates increased for individual auto insurance and it also increased for personal property compared to the fourth quarter of 2023. (1) 
 
Key findings from the first quarter of 2024 include: 
• Individual auto insurance: In the first quarter of 2024, the change in personal auto insurance premium rates increased 13.3% compared with the first quarter of 2023. The change in personal auto insurance premium rates was up 0.5% compared with the fourth quarter of 2023. 
• Personal property: In the first quarter of 2024, the change in personal property insurance premium rates increased 10.9% compared with the first quarter of 2023. The change in personal property insurance premium rates increased 3.9% compared with the fourth quarter of 2023. 
• Provinces: For personal auto insurance products, all Provinces saw a year-over-year increase in the premium rate. The Provinces of Alberta, Ontario, Québec and the Maritimes saw increases of 7.0%, 12.1%, 9.7% and 14.5%, respectively. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2023, all Provinces except Ontario experienced a downward trend in the quarter-over-quarter change in premium rates. Alberta, Ontario, Québec and the Atlantic Provinces had results of -1.3%, 1.2%, -2.3% and -1.4%, respectively. 
• All Provinces saw an increase in the year-over-year change in personal property insurance premium rates. Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Québec, the Atlantic Provinces, Saskatchewan and Manitoba saw increases in year-over-year change in premium rates of 10.5%, 18.3%, 12.7%, 3.7%, 9.2% and 12.0%, respectively. 
 
It is very likely that future premiums will be increased by at least the same percentage, if not more, to absorb the expenses related to Hurricane Debby. 
 
However, we would like to remind you of an earlier article written by Martin Messier, President of the APQ, entitled "Negotiating with your insurance can be fatal to a rent increase"(2). If you decide to negotiate to reduce your insurance premium, it can negate the rent increase you might have had otherwise. 
 
Indeed, with the calculation method of the Administrative Housing Tribunal, both negative and positive figures are taken into account. So, if your premium is reduced because you have negotiated a higher deductible, you should know that in the calculation form, you will have to deduct the negative amount of your expenses next year :