Canadian insurers are pressing their government to finalise the introduction of a national flood cover program amid rises in severe weather losses that have paralleled the Australian experience.

“Both of our countries are vulnerable, both are facing a growing threat, and both need real and meaningful action from our decision-makers,” Insurance Bureau of Canada CEO Celyeste Power said.

She told the Insurance Council of Australia annual conference last week that the introduction of a flood pool is being delayed as funding arrangements are finalised.

“This program would be a partnership between governments and Canada’s insurers. We’re committed to doing our part. The federal government, meanwhile, has been studying the issue for seven years: it’s long past time for action.”

The past northern summer was the worst season in Canada’s history for insured losses due to severe weather, at about $C7 billion ($7.6 billion).

Ms Power said in a five-week period, the country had three major floods, wildfires and a destructive hailstorm, resulting in 50% more claims than are usually received in a year.

“We’re trying to deal with the kind of systemic issues that I know you’re facing here as well – gaps in protection, particularly on flood insurance, a shortage of skilled labour, challenging regulatory conditions, inflationary cost pressures and more,” she said.

“There’s no way to protect every home from every threat in perpetuity, it would be absurd to think so, but it would be equally absurd to look at what’s happening in our cities and our communities across our countries and decide that the only answer is to do nothing.”

Ms Power said the Canadian flood pool has been designed to avoid the pitfalls of some similar arrangements, such as the US program, and involves resilience investment and only paying out one time in high-risk areas, with conversations required around moving and building elsewhere.

Canadian insurers are also pushing for retrofitting of homes, resilience in new construction in higher-risk regions, upgraded infrastructure and better land use planning, she told the conference.

Ms Power said there is a risk people are becoming desensitised to rising losses, but they cannot be accepted as a new normal.

“The most expensive home is the one you have to build twice. The bottom line is that we are not powerless to help ourselves confront this challenge. There are things we can do, there are actions we can take. We just need the will to do it.”