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It is no secret that the frequency and severity of natural disasters is on the rise in Canada and worldwide. Hurricanes, tornadoes, forest fires and severe rainstorms are happening more often than ever before and costing us dearly.

Canada’s property and casualty insurers are leading the charge to encourage communities, households and individuals to adapt the way they live and build to minimize the impact of natural disasters associated with our changing climate.

• Water damage is now the leading cause of property damage in Canada, costing insurers approximately $1.7 billion per year.
• Infrastructure failure is to blame for most of the damage caused by severe weather events in recent decades.
• Insurers are working to develop a municipal risk assessment tool that will help municipalities identify infrastructure vulnerabilities and allocate improvement funds strategically.
  

• Protect Yourself from Climate Change
• Water Damage is on the Rise
• Before Disaster Strikes, Strike Back!
• Waves of Concern

Insurance fraud is estimated to be a multi-million-dollar business in Ontario, contributing to the high cost of auto insurance in the province. Insurance fraud comes in many forms, and the perpetrators don’t always look like criminals. Sometimes it’s the work of organized groups – including associated service providers (e.g. medical rehab clinics, tow truck drivers) – or gangs that stage collisions or coordinate the shipping of stolen vehicles overseas. But insurance fraud can also involve normally law-abiding citizens who see a chance to make extra dollars by padding an otherwise legitimate claim.

• Knowingly lie on an insurance application.
• Claim previous damage to a vehicle along with damage from a new collision.
• Claim for injuries that don’t exist after a collision.
• As a health care provider, submit claims for additional treatments after a person injured in an auto accident has already recovered.
• Make an injury claim for a collision that never happened.
  

• Don't Be a Victim: What You Can Do to Avoid Insurance Crime
• Report Insurance Crime Form
• The Cost of Personal Injury Fraud
• Types of Personal Injury Fraud
• Who’s Involved?

IBC has been helping Canadians fight auto theft for more than 80 years. The fight against auto theft requires the cooperation and involvement of many partners. It starts with automobile owners and includes the law enforcement community, automobile manufacturers, dealers of new and used cars, salvage operators, car repairers, automobile insurers, theft deterrent system manufacturers and installers, licensing and customs authorities, and the judicial system.

• Auto theft costs Canadians $1 billion per year, if one considers health care, court, policing, legal and out-of-pocket costs such as deductibles.
• A study from 1999-2001 showed that, in each of those years, approximately 40 people died and 65 were injured as a direct result of auto theft.
  

• Top 10 Most Stolen Cars
• Insurance Bureau of Canada's Theft Deterrent Program
• What Happens to Stolen Cars, the Victims and the Thieves
• Theft and Break-in

Many of today’s most effective road safety measures are the result, in part, of insurer advocacy. Insurers were leaders in the push for the universal use of seatbelts, and the industry played a big role in the introduction of graduated driver licensing. Insurers have also advocated for stronger penalties for drinking and driving and for more effective enforcement of laws surrounding this issue. As new road safety concerns – like driver distraction and the increasing number of aging drivers – emerge, insurers are on the front lines, helping to identify the factors that lead to increased risk and working to implement measures that will keep our roads safe.

• Driver distraction is a factor in 8 out of 10 car crashes.
• Drivers talking on cellphones are, in many cases, just as impaired as drunk drivers.
• Driving while sleepy can be as dangerous as driving under the influence of alcohol.
• IBC’s DUMB Car driving simulator has taught thousands of Canadians about things like handling driver distractions, driving in adverse weather, avoiding road hazards and identifying the point-of-no-return at traffic lights.
  

• Road Safety
• Stop Distracted Driving!
• Getting the Facts About Whiplash
• Rest Up! Save Your Neck

IBC partners with leading emergency management stakeholders to help teach Canadians about preparing for disasters. Our country is large, and the natural hazards that each community is exposed to can vary. From earthquakes to fires to tornadoes, there are often steps people can take to be better prepared and to minimize the risk of damage to their property and their lives after an emergency. And when disaster does strike, insurers are there to help rebuild lives.

• IBC will deploy its Community Assistance Mobile Pavilion (CAMP) to disaster sites after an emergency when there is significant insured damage, to help Canadians with their insurance questions.
• In the past, CAMP, staffed by trained insurance industry personnel, has set up at emergency shelters and community centres where individuals gathered after being forced from their homes.
• All households should be able to survive on their own for the first 72 hours following an emergency. They should prepare a kit of essential survival items to help them through the time before help may be able to arrive.
• A family emergency disaster plan should be based on the exposures that are typical of a given community. This plan should include escape routes from the home and the community.

• Your Emergency Preparedness Guide
• Are You Ready?
• Protect Yourself from Climate Change
• Could You Survive?
• Your Guide to Home Safety