By Chris Munro

April 10 - (The Insurer) - Canada’s largest insurer, Intact Financial Corporation, is facing an estimated C$244 million ($174 million) of catastrophe losses in Q1 2025, pre-tax and net of reinsurance.

The estimated cat loss total equates to C$1.03 per diluted common share after-tax.

Toronto, Ontario-based Intact faced catastrophe losses from all three of its Canada, UK and Ireland (UK&I), and U.S. divisions during the first quarter of 2025.

In its native Canada, Intact faced an estimated C$82 million of personal lines catastrophe losses, and a further C$28 million of commercial lines losses.

Within the UK&I, Intact suffered C$87 million of commercial lines losses, and in the U.S., it nursed an estimated C$47 million of commercial lines losses.

“In Canada and the UK&I, losses were driven by weather events, including water damage and ice storms in Ontario, as well as storms in the UK and Ireland,” Intact said.

“In the U.S., catastrophe losses were primarily related to commercial fires and a property loss,” the Charles Brindamour-led company detailed.

Alongside the C$244 million of estimated catastrophe losses Intact faced from its ongoing operations, the company suffered a further C$30 million hit, pre-tax and net of reinsurance, from storms that affected its exited UK home insurance operations.

That C$30 million will be reported within Intact’s exited lines underwriting results in its Q1 2025 earnings print.

In Intact’s Q4 and full year 2024 earnings report, the company noted that, effective January 1, 2025, it had increased its reinsurance coverage limits for Canadian events from C$5.4 billion to C$5.6 billion to reflect what it described as “a small increase in earthquake exposure in British Columbia."

In its January 1, 2025, incepting reinsurance program, Intact raised its retention in Canada from C$250 million to C$350 million “to reflect reinsurance market conditions."

For U.S. events, Intact maintained the same retention and coverage limit for 2025 as in 2024.

When it comes to UK events, Intact kept the same retention at 150 million pounds ($194 million) and reduced its coverage limits from 2.1 billion pounds to 1.8 billion pounds.

Effective July 1, 2025, the UK coverage limits will be reduced to 1.65 billion pounds to reflect the reducing exposure from its personal lines business in the region as it continues to be runoff.

Alongside updating its existing reinsurances, Intact placed a new global cover to protect against multiple catastrophe events during 2025 and which provides it with C$250 million of limit.

As Intact explained, in that protection, losses to specified layers beneath the main catastrophe retentions from all of its business segments are added together across the year.

The total of those losses is then protected above an aggregate deductible.