Claims blowing in from Ontario, Quebec’s weekend winter storm

As people dig out from a trifecta of snowstorms that swept the eastern half of Canada, adjusters are beginning to respond to claims.  

But with snowbanks piled high across two provinces, the biggest claims threat will unravel in the coming weeks as all that snow melts, adjusters tell Canadian Underwriter.  

Three storms in eight days blanketed much of Ontario and parts of Quebec, with the latest dump of snow dropping over Saturday and Sunday.  

Toronto received 60 cm of snow in just over a week — approximately 16 to 23 cm of that fell this past weekend, atop the 15 to 20 cm that accumulated on Wednesday, Feb. 12, and 15.4 cm of snow between Feb. 8 and 9.  

Ottawa received closer to 37.4 cm on Sunday, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) reported. The greater Montreal area received about 30 cm of snow in less than 12 hours on Sunday.  

The major winter storm continues to affect eastern Quebec. Storm systems caused “difficult travel conditions, many road closures, numerous accidents and a few power outages,” ECCC reported in today’s weather summary. 

Cold weather and snow squalls are forecast in southern Ontario for the remainder of the week, though the chill will lessen by the weekend. 

Tracking the claims

In the meantime, adjusters are seeing claims filter in.

“We’ve had a lot of calls into our call centre over the weekend for customers concerned about ice damming,” says ClaimsPro’s president Paul Gilbody. “We’re a bit early to be able to do anything with it, because we need to get the snow off the roof.

“We’re not really seeing a lot of activity now because people aren’t really driving as much, and because the snow is just falling and sitting, I think properties are broadly okay,” he adds. 

Though it’s too early to tally insured damages, Toronto’s snowpack was 50 cm deep as of Monday, The Weather Network says. That’s the deepest the city’s seen since Jan. 15, 1999 (67 cm), when a massive snowstorm paralyzed the city, and Toronto’s mayor called in the Canadian Army to assist with snow removal. 

“It’s still a bit early to provide a full assessment, but we expect to see a significant influx of APD [Accident and Property Damage] claims today,” says David Repinski, CEO of CRU Adjusters. “Additionally, many claims related to roof collapses due to the weight of snow are likely currently reported as IBNR [Incurred But Not Reported].” 

Heavy snowfall alone doesn’t often result in catastrophe-level claims, sources stress. The largest claims potential happens when the snow thaws.  

“The biggest problem in areas that’ve had a huge amount of snow is that it looks like it’s going to be quite a mild March and if you get a relatively fast thaw, that’s when you get problems with basements flooding and pipes bursting and that sort of thing,” says Gilbody. 

“I think the issue will be in four weeks or so when it starts to melt, and if it melts quickly, then that’s going to be a problem for people.” 

Repinski adds: “It’s been several years since we’ve had a snowfall of this magnitude. We may likely experience significant flooding come spring, similar to what we saw a few years ago…” 

The last time Ontario saw a similar snowfall was January 2022, when a North American storm brought nearly 50 cm of snow to Toronto and St. Catharines, and 55 cm in Ottawa. 

A resident shovels snow across a roadway during a winter weather snow storm in Ottawa, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. The City of Ottawa has declared a significant weather event with Environment Canada predicting total snowfall amounts ranging from 30 to 40cm with near zero visibility at times. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby