An initial estimate of damage costs from a July 13, 2025, hailstorm that swept through Calgary is $92 million, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada.
IBC said 65 per cent of that estimate comes from damage to vehicles resulting from the storm.
Vice-president Aaron Sutherland said Alberta has experienced at least one major hailstorm every year for the past two decades, resulting in more than $11 billion in insurance damage, with $6 billion of that coming in the last five years alone.
A massive hailstorm that rolled through the north part of Calgary on Aug. 5, 2024, caused more than $3.2 billion in damage, making it the second costliest natural disaster in Canadian history, according to the Insurance Bureau.
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That storm saw golf ball-sized hail, powerful winds and heavy rain affect about one in five homes in the city.
It pummelled vehicles, destroyed the roofs and siding on homes, uprooted trees, caused widespread flooding and damaged 10 per cent of WestJet’s fleet of airplanes, which required extensive repairs before they could fly again.
Many home and vehicle owners hit by the storm have complained about skyrocketing insurance costs, with some complaining about difficulty getting insurance.
The City of Calgary sits in Canada’s “Hailstorm Alley,” which runs from High River, just south of Calgary, north to central Alberta.
Researchers at the Northern Hail Project — a branch of Western University’s Canadian Severe Storms Laboratory — estimate the area sees more than 40 hailstorms every summer.
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