Reinsurance News
California wildfires
California wildfire related insurance or reinsurance news and analysis. The California wildfire peril is a key exposure of the re/insurance market and an area where risk capital provides meaningful support to help policyholders recover after a wildfire disaster.
Hannover Re LA wildfire loss of €500m-€700m will exceed Q1 large loss budget: CEO Henchoz
6th February 2025
Jean-Jacques Henchoz, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of large European reinsurer Hannover Re, said this morning that an industry loss of between $30 billion and $40 billion from the Los Angeles wildfires could lead to a net loss for the firm of between €500 million and €700 million, which is above ... Read the full article
USAA delivers over $1bn to members affected by California wildfires
5th February 2025
USAA, a financial services provider for the military community, has processed 86% of wildfire claims with initial payments, delivering over $1 billion to members affected by the California wildfires. "USAA is deeply committed to supporting our members during this challenging time," added Randy Termeer, USAA Property and Casualty President. "We understand the ... Read the full article
Property cat rates still above what Everest needs to deploy in most markets: CEO, Williamson
4th February 2025
Despite property catastrophe reinsurance prices falling between 5% and 15% for loss free programmes at the January 1st, 2025, renewals, Jim Williamson, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bermuda-based carrier Everest, has said that overall, rates are still above what's required for the firm to have appetite to deploy ... Read the full article
SCOR sees LA wildfire impact as manageable at roughly quarterly cat budget for Q1: Conoscente
4th February 2025
Jean-Paul Conoscente, CEO of P&C at SCOR, one of Europe's big four reinsurers, said today that the impact of the Los Angeles wildfires should be around a quarterly natural catastrophe budget for Q1 for the firm, emphasising that the event will act as a floor to the drop of cat ... 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
No market hysteria but LA wildfire loss could temper reinsurance rate reductions seen at Jan 1: MMC
30th January 2025
Executives at global broking group Marsh McLennan (MMC) said today that although it's too early to tell exactly what impact the recent Los Angeles, California wildfires will have on the property market, moving forward, the magnitude of industry loss could temper risk-adjusted reinsurance rate reductions witnessed at the January 1st ... Read the full article
Heritage expects losses from California wildfires of up to $40m
30th January 2025
Heritage Insurance, a super-regional P&C insurance holding company, has said that it expects to incur pre-tax, net current accident quarter catastrophe losses from the Los Angeles, California wildfires of between $35 million and $40 million in the first quarter of 2025. In a statement, the firm explained that it is participating ... Read the full article
RenRe expects new opportunities to deploy capacity as LA wildfires show value of reinsurance
29th January 2025
Executives at Bermuda-based reinsurer RenaissanceRe (RenRe) said today that the scale of industry loss from the recent California wildfires will affect reinsurance supply and demand, with the firm expecting new opportunities to deploy capacity as 75% of its US property catastrophe accounts renew over the next six months. Within its ... Read the full article
Chubb estimates $1.5bn loss from LA wildfires amid reduced California exposure
29th January 2025
During insurer Chubb Limited’s fourth-quarter 2024 earnings call, Chairman and CEO Evan Greenberg confirmed that the company expects $1.5 billion in net pre-tax losses from the recent Los Angeles, California wildfires. Despite the scale of the losses, Greenberg does not anticipate a broader impact on property insurance pricing, emphasising that overall ... Read the full article
Reinsurance sector to assume at least 30% of total insured losses from LA wildfires: Moody’s
29th January 2025
Based on preliminary insured loss estimates, Moody's has said it expects the reinsurance sector to assume at least 30% of total insured losses from the devasting Palisades and Eaton wildfires in Los Angeles. As we've extensively covered, the highest loss estimate for the wildfires so far comes from CoreLogic, at ... Read the full article
Bermuda market to have a meaningful share of LA wildfire insured losses: Fitch
28th January 2025
Fitch Ratings has noted that the Bermuda market will have a meaningful share of insured losses from the recent California wildfires for both primary business and reinsurance, however, it does not expect ratings to be affected given plentiful capital levels. According to a new report from Fitch, underwriting results for Bermuda-based ... Read the full article
State Farm pays almost $500m to customers from LA wildfires
28th January 2025
As of January 27, 2025, auto and homeowners insurer State Farm has received over 10,100 claims for home and auto damage caused by the California wildfires, and has already paid nearly half a billion dollars to customers. This marks a significant increase from the 6,700 claims received as of January ... Read the full article
LA wildfires to cause minimal principal cat bond losses, issuance unaffected
27th January 2025
Fitch Ratings has noted that the Los Angeles wildfires will cause certain catastrophe bonds to experience partial principal losses, though these are not anticipated to impede issuance. According to a new report from the rating agency, while roughly 12% of the $50 billion cat-bond market is currently exposed to wildfire risk, ... Read the full article
LA wildfires likely to heavily impact insurance rates: S&P
24th January 2025
According to a recent report from S&P Global Ratings, the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires could significantly impact homeowners, with insurance rates in the region likely to be heavily impacted. S&P predicts that, following the event, property insurers will likely increase rates and/or limit coverage options. These measures may extend beyond California ... 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
Getting your daily reinsurance news from Reinsurance News is a simple way to receive only the reinsurance industry news that matters, delivered directly to your email inbox.
