Home insurance is starting to feel like a second mortgage for many residents in Northeast Calgary. In some cases, it's disappearing altogether, leaving families exposed ahead of another hail season.
What's happening?
According to LiveWire Calgary (LWC), homeowners in Calgary's Northeast, often dubbed "Hail Alley," are being hit with massive insurance premium increases, rising deductibles, and policy cancellations. Some say they've been priced out entirely.
Harlin Kaur, who owns two homes in the area, had to file a $45,000 hail damage claim after a hailstorm in August 2024. When it came time to renew, her premiums jumped from $180 and $160 per month to $580. More than 15 providers either rejected her outright or quoted her up to $21,000 per home.
"(The insurance broker said) well, because of the number of claims that they had in the Northeast last year, they are declining any policies with the T3J, T3N postal codes," Kaur told LWC.
In neighborhood Facebook groups like Redstone and Skyview Ranch, residents are warning each other about quotes with $10,000 hail deductibles and seeing premiums go up by a third in a single year. One person wrote that they had to sell their house after being unable to secure affordable insurance.
Why are rising insurance costs or cancellations concerning?
Repeated hailstorms have made this part of Calgary a high-risk zone for insurers. The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) says hail-related claims in Calgary have totaled more than $5 billion in the last three years. The August 2024 storm alone was the country's most expensive weather event that year.
According to IBC vice president Aaron Sutherland, companies are under pressure and tightening their risk exposure. "Some carriers may be looking to reduce their coverage options or change their coverage options," he said, per LWC.
While extreme weather events have always existed, the climate crisis — caused by activities like burning dirty energy sources — supercharges them and increases their occurrence. Communities are in more danger, and a higher frequency of weather events is causing insurance companies to reduce or drop coverage in high-risk areas.
When premiums become unaffordable — or when coverage disappears entirely — communities are left vulnerable. City councillor Raj Dhaliwal called the problem a crisis. "Imagine if your insurance is more than your mortgage. You might as well sell the house and go rent," he told LWC. "It's ridiculous."
What's being done to solve this insurance crisis?
The IBC is pushing Alberta's provincial government to update building codes with stronger hail resistance requirements. "There is no longer any excuse to continue to put Albertans in harm's way," said Sutherland. Programs like Calgary's now-defunct Resilient Roofing Rebate have helped in the past, and local leaders are calling for them to be brought back.
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Meanwhile, the IBC is encouraging residents to shop around, as coverage and deductible structures vary by provider. And residents like Kaur are organizing a press conference with Councillor Dhaliwal to demand more affordable insurance and tougher provincial action.
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