Preliminary wildfire loss estimates from eight California insurers has reached $1.045 billion after over 7,000 structures have been either damaged or destroyed, the California Department of Insurance reported.
Photo: NBC news
The losses are for damages to commercial and residential structures, personal and commercial vehicles, and agricultural equipment, and the numbers are expected to climb as more claims are processed.
“These numbers are just the beginning of the story as one of the deadliest and costliest wildfire catastrophes in California’s history,” said Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones; “The tragic death of 42 people and over a billion in property losses are numbers—behind these numbers are thousands of people who’ve been traumatized by unfathomable loss. We must do all we can to ease their pain and help them recover and rebuild.”
Residents in several counties across northern and southern California have begun leaving evacuation centers to access what they’ve lost and begin the long road to rebuild and recover.
RMS estimated economic losses for the wildfires will range from $3 billion to $6 billion – the risk modeller’s fire progression perimeters show total exposures from the California wildfires could reach as much as 15,000 structures worth around $14 billion.
The fires ignited on October 8th and 9th and have since burned over 100,000 acres in Napa, Sonoma, and Solano counties alone.
Rating agency Moody’s expects the recent California wildfires to be among the costliest on record for U.S. P&C insurers, with losses running into a credit negative close to $4.6 billion based on historical events and the number of structures damaged.
Moody’s said that assuming “CAL FIREs estimate of 5,700 structures destroyed and an average value of $802,000 per structure losses would be close to $4.6 billion and growing as the fires continue.
“Catastrophe modelling firm RMS issued a preliminary insured loss estimate of $3-$6 billion and said there was significant uncertainty around business interruption, particularly for the wine industry.”
The California insurers preliminary wildfire losses are just the first to roll in – for what’s become one of the region’s most devastating natural catastrophe in decades.
For reinsurers it represents yet another event that adds to already mounting pressures after global industry 2017 Q3 losses broke records, causing some firms to issue profit warnings and others to report a capital event that resulted in rating downgrades.
