Definity Financial has estimated a $130 million negative impact to underwriting income for July and August 2026, net of reinsurance recoveries, equivalent to $0.79 per common share after taxes and reinsurance.
The estimate covers severe rainstorms and flooding in Ontario and Alberta in July, plus additional Ontario flooding and British Columbia wildfires in August.
"While these events have had a meaningful impact, they also demonstrate the importance of being prepared to support customers when they need us most," said Rowan Saunders, Definity's president and CEO.
Definity said its year-to-date catastrophe losses remain largely in line with expectations, but its distinct Q3 2026 catastrophe losses are already trending meaningfully above the full-quarter market consensus of $93 million, with two months of the quarter still generating that gap. The company plans to provide a finalized full-quarter update in the first half of October.
For the same July-and-August window in 2024, Definity disclosed a considerably larger $170 million impact, driven that year by the Jasper wildfire and Ontario flooding. This year's $130 million figure is smaller by comparison, even though it is still running ahead of analyst consensus for the full quarter. That suggests 2026's summer catastrophe season, while genuinely active, has so far been less severe for Definity specifically than 2024's was, even as it still outpaces what the market had priced in before the disclosure.
The $130 million figure is also larger than Definity's entire $88.3 million in underwriting income reported for the second quarter of 2026, when the company posted a 93.9% combined ratio. That comparison illustrates the scale of the hit in isolation, though it isn't a direct forecast of a Q3 underwriting loss, since the full quarter will still include ordinary premium income, routine claims, and other underwriting activity alongside the catastrophe losses.
The August wildfire losses Definity references align with the active British Columbia wildfire season this desk has tracked closely, including the Bald Range wildfire near Summerland, which forced more than 20,000 evacuations and destroyed at least 150 structures before an official damage count was confirmed in mid-August.
Definity's disclosure doesn't break out losses by specific named event, so the exact contribution from Bald Range specifically isn't stated, but the timing lines up with that fire's most active period.
For brokers, Definity's disclosure is a useful, name-brand data point supporting a trend IBC has been documenting at the industry level: insured losses from severe weather exceeded $2.4 billion in 2025, the tenth-costliest year on record, and 2026's pace of events, this GTA "100-year storm" from earlier this month, the ongoing Cape Breton flooding, and now Definity's own July-August catastrophe tally, continues to build on that trajectory.
A single insurer's quarterly disclosure isn't a market-wide loss estimate, but it's a concrete, audited signal that the season's frequency of events is translating into real financial impact for major carriers, which is relevant context for renewal conversations with commercial and personal lines clients alike heading into Q4.
Definity's own caution that "the summer catastrophe season remains active and additional events may occur" is worth taking at face value given how the rest of September has already played out, with the Cape Breton floods emerging just days after this disclosure. Brokers should treat the $130 million figure as a floor rather than a final number, and watch for Definity's promised full-quarter update in early October to see whether the gap versus the $93 million consensus widens further once September's events are factored in.
