Reinsurance News
California FAIR Plan
Farmers Exchanges projects $600m wildfire loss, reaffirms commitment to California
19th February 2025
The Farmers Exchanges, a group of reciprocal insurers including Farmers Insurance Exchange, Fire Insurance Exchange, and Truck Insurance Exchange, have released initial estimates indicating a $600 million loss from the recent California wildfires. This figure is net of the per-occurrence reinsurance programme and before taxes, excluding Farmers’ portion of FAIR Plan ... Read the full article
California FAIR Plan gains approval for $1bn assessment from member firms
12th February 2025
The California FAIR Plan Association, a consortium of all insurers licensed to provide property insurance in the state, has received approval for an additional $1 billion in funds from its member companies from Insurance Commissioner, Ricardo Lara, enabling the Plan to continue paying claims after the Los Angeles wildfires. In a ... Read the full article
AM Best highlights strain on re/insurers from California wildfires and rising FAIR Plan policies
10th February 2025
AM Best, a credit rating agency specialising in the insurance sector, reports that the recent surge of wildfires across Southern California has deepened existing challenges for insurers, worsening underwriting performance, increasing reinsurance exposure, and destabilising the market. Since January 7, 2025, over 30 wildfires—including the Palisades and Eaton fires—have scorched the ... Read the full article
AM Best: Addressing California’s wildfire losses and the urgent need for insurance market reform
31st January 2025
In AM Best's Briefing: Reinsurance – January 1 Renewals and What to Expect in 2025, insurance experts, including Carlos Wong-Fupuy, Senior Director at AM Best and Kyle Rhodes, President of North American operations at TransRe, discussed the long-term implications of California’s ongoing wildfire crisis for the insurance market, with a ... Read the full article
California wildfires poised to drive up property insurance costs, Moody’s reports
24th January 2025
Moody’s, a financial services company known for its credit ratings, research, and data solutions, has released an analysis highlighting the far-reaching financial impact of recent wildfires in California. According to Moody’s, the wildfires in Los Angeles County are projected to be the costliest in the state's history, with insured property losses ... Read the full article
Insured California wildfire losses to near or exceed $40bn, poll suggests
23rd January 2025
A recent Reinsurance News poll sought insights from industry experts and observers regarding the estimated insured loss from the devastating Eaton and Palisades wildfires in Los Angeles, encompassing claims handled by the California FAIR Plan. Of the hundreds of responses to our recent poll, 42% believe that insured losses related to ... Read the full article
California wildfires unlikely to affect P&C re/insurer ratings: Fitch
14th January 2025
In a new report, Fitch Ratings has confirmed that even though the Los Angeles wildfires will cause insured losses considerably higher than past events, they are not likely to affect ratings of property and casualty (P&C) insurers and reinsurers. The ratings agency expects insured losses to remain within ratings sensitivities for ... Read the full article
Re/insurance industry well capitalized to absorb LA wildfire losses: KBRA
13th January 2025
While the Los Angeles wildfires are anticipated to be a major catastrophe event for the insurance industry, a new report from KBRA has highlighted that the sector is generally well capitalized to absorb the losses, although some individual carriers may be more heavily impacted than others. With industry losses from ... Read the full article
Billions in insurance losses expected from LA wildfires, Moody’s reports
13th January 2025
Wildfires currently affecting the Los Angeles area are expected to lead to significant financial losses for insurers, according to Moody's Ratings, a provider of credit ratings, research, and risk analysis. As of January 9, 2025, the Palisades and Eaton fires remain uncontained, causing property damage and evacuations. The ... Read the full article
California FAIR Plan to add commercial policies starting July
26th June 2024
The California FAIR Plan Association, a consortium of all insurers licensed to provide property insurance in the state, will expand its clearinghouse to include commercial policies such as those for farms and condominiums, beginning July 1. This expansion follows the enactment of Senate Bill 505 (Rubio) in 2023, reflecting a concerted ... Read the full article
FAIR Plan “one event” away from needing a large assessment warns Roach
26th March 2024
The California FAIR Plan Association (FAIR Plan) has experienced historic growth in recent years, as data shows its total exposure has nearly tripled with continued policy growth. This last resort property insurer is dedicated to ensuring that all Californians have access to fundamental property coverage, helping to provide peace of mind ... Read the full article
California looks to expand use of cat models to wildfire, terrorism, & flood: Commissioner Lara
20th March 2024
In a move to help drive back a developing insurance crisis across the state of California, that has witnessed companies pulling back on underwriting property insurance there, or exiting the state completely, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has unveiled a regulation to allow for an expanded use of catastrophe models to ... Read the full article
California FAIR Plan increases commercial coverage limits to $20m per location
2nd November 2023
The California FAIR Plan Association (FAIR Plan) has partnered with the California Department of Insurance (CDI) to offer increased commercial coverage limits of up to $20 million per location. This change, effective as of November 1, represents a substantial enhancement from the previous maximum of $8.4 million per location for commercial ... Read the full article
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