New complaint alleges home insurance hikes, shrinking coverage, and industry conflict of interest put Ontario households — and the system — at risk
A complaint filed today at the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) by Investors for Paris Compliance (I4PC) asks the regulator to investigate the province’s home insurance sector in the wake of ongoing rapid rake hikes. The submission summarizes how climate damages like last year’s Toronto floods are driving up claims, with insurers passing on these costs to Ontarians in the form of higher premiums and reduced coverage, while critical information remains hidden.
“Unlike with auto insurance, home insurance rates are a black box – Ontarians only know they keep going up,” said Kiera Taylor, Senior Policy Analyst at I4PC. “We need greater transparency about what’s going on, and a plan by the regulator to get on top of growing home insurance unaffordability in the face of increasing climate damages.”
The complaint outlines three issues within FSRA’s mandate:
- System resilience: On average, home insurance rates in Ontario rose by 84% between 2014 and 2024, with a 12.7% increase in 2024 and a further 5.7% jump in 2025. Insurers are predicting further double digit growth. There is no analysis about Ontarians’ ability to pay for ongoing open-ended hikes. Meanwhile, coverage has been reduced in areas like Windsor, Richmond Hill, and Ottawa.
- Lack of transparency: Unlike auto insurance, FSRA provides no public data on home insurance rate hikes or their justification. Some insurers are raising shareholder dividends while they hike home insurance rates. Insurers also rely on private flood and fire maps that are not shared with homeowners, municipalities, or developers — even though they determine coverage and pricing.
- Conflict of interest: Despite acknowledging climate change as the major driver of claims, Canadian P&C insurers and their parent companies held over $19.5 billion in fossil fuel investments in 2023 and continue to underwrite oil and gas expansion — driving up future claims and premium hikes.
“Insurance companies are calling on governments to fund greater adaptation efforts, but they do not have clean hands while making this case,” said Taylor. “They are investing in and underwriting fossil fuel expansion, which ends up costing Ontarians more in the form of premium hikes and taxpayer-funded disaster response.”
