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.
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
KCC estimates insured loss from LA wildfires at close to $28bn
23rd January 2025
Karen Clark & Company (KCC) has estimated that the insured loss (from privately insured and FAIR plan policies) to residential, commercial, and industrial properties, and autos from the Palisades and Eaton Fires in Los Angeles will be close to $28 billion. This estimate, which is based on the high-resolution KCC US ... Read the full article
LA wildfires may erode over 30% of combined nat cat budgets of Europe’s big four: Fitch
23rd January 2025
At $35 billion, roughly the mid-point of insurance industry loss estimates from the devastating Los Angeles wildfires, Fitch Ratings estimates that 30% of the aggregate natural catastrophe budgets set by Europe's big four reinsurers for 2025 may be eroded. With the two main fires, Palisades and Eaton now 70% and 95% ... Read the full article
Verisk puts LA wildfire insurance industry loss at between $28bn and $35bn
22nd January 2025
Verisk's Extreme Event Solutions division has estimated that insured losses to property from both the Palisades and Eaton Fires in Los Angeles, California, will land between $28 billion and $35 billion, driven by losses to residential risks. As containment efforts continue for the two largest fires to burn across Southern California ... Read the full article
Munich Re execs confident on €6bn profit target despite LA wildfire impact: Reports
22nd January 2025
Executives at Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, confirmed recently that although the Los Angeles wildfires will be a major loss for the firm, it will remain below its provision for natural catastrophe events, with the reinsurer confident of achieving its net profit target of €6 billion ... Read the full article
Reinsurers’ 10-15% share of LA wildfire industry loss not enough to alter pricing trajectory: Evercore
21st January 2025
Analysts at Evercore ISI have increased their insured loss base case for the ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles to a range of $25 billion to $30 billion, stating that although an industry loss of this level will hit reinsurers, it's not enough to alter the trajectory of reinsurance pricing with ... Read the full article
Mercury yet to decide if LA wildfires a single event as claims paid hit $80m
20th January 2025
Mercury General Corporation has paid $80 million to policyholders, mainly for living expenses and housing contents due to the Southern California wildfires. However, it has reportedly not yet decided whether it will treat the fires as two separate events under its reinsurance agreements. Earlier this month, Mercury General provided a ... Read the full article
LA fires: Average insured claim estimated at $1.9m with 17,027 structures destroyed or damaged
20th January 2025
The wildfires still burning in parts of the Palisades and Eaton areas of Los Angeles, California, have now damaged or destroyed more than 17,000 structures, with an average insured loss per structure of an estimated $1.9 million, based on the mid-point of initial insured loss estimates from catastrophe risk modellers. As ... Read the full article
Moody’s downgrades Mercury’s ratings on California nat cat exposure
20th January 2025
Moody's has downgraded the ratings of California-based Mercury General, citing the firm's concentration in the state and significant exposure to natural catastrophes. Moody's said, "We view this as an environmental risk as part of our environmental, social, and governance considerations. As the frequency and severity of natural catastrophes increase over time, ... Read the full article
LA wildfires to drive insured losses of up to $30bn, says Moody’s RMS Event Response
20th January 2025
Catastrophe risk modeller Moody's RMS Event Response has estimated insured losses from the Los Angeles fires will be between $20 billion and $30 billion but warns that significant uncertainty remains as some of the fires are ongoing. Moody's RMS released this preliminary estimate on Friday evening, when the Palisades Fire was ... Read the full article
LA wildfire insured losses estimated between $20–$30bn: Gallagher Re
17th January 2025
Gallagher Re has revised its insured loss estimates for the Southern California wildfires to a range of $20 billion to $30 billion, with the portion anticipated to be ceded to reinsurance potentially reaching the mid-to-high single-digit billions. Although the Palisades and Eaton wildfires in Los Angeles are now expected to rank ... Read the full article
CoreLogic pegs LA wildfire insured loss at $35bn to $45bn
16th January 2025
Catastrophe risk modeller CoreLogic has estimated that residential and commercial insurance industry losses for the ongoing Eaton and Palisades Fires in Los Angeles, California, will fall between $35 billion and $45 billion. With the fires in Eaton and Palisades still burning as of Thursday afternoon, CoreLogic's estimated insured loss range is ... Read the full article
Lloyd’s unlikely to have much direct insurance exposure to California wildfires
16th January 2025
According to a new report from Alpha Insurance Analysts Limited, Lloyd’s is unlikely to have much direct insurance exposure to the California wildfires, other than through some specialist high value homes property binders. As per new estimates, the LA wildfires are set to cause economic losses as high as $275 billion ... Read the full article
Global reinsurer profitability to remain strong in 2025 despite price reductions, says Fitch
15th January 2025
Fitch Ratings, a provider of credit ratings, research, and risk analysis, has forecasted that global reinsurers' profitability will remain strong in 2025, despite lower risk-adjusted prices for most business lines during the January 1st reinsurance contract renewals. These price reductions are attributed to an abundance of capital in the market and ... Read the full article
State Farm reports over 6,700 claims from LA wildfires
15th January 2025
Auto and homeowners insurer State Farm has received more than 6,700 home and auto claims, as of the morning of January 14th, 2025, from damages related to the recent wildfires in Los Angeles, California. State Farm remains the largest insurer group in the State of California, serving more than 8 million ... Read the full article
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