LA Wildfires by The Numbers: Insured Losses, Total Losses, Ratings, Rates
Article 0 Comments The impact of the historic Los Angeles-area wildfires is being broadly examined and continually refined, with updates almost daily on insured losses, total economic losses and damages, credit ratings—and lately worrying outlooks for the effect of the fires on insurance rates. Tens of thousands of properties will be ultimately lost when final counts come in, along with dozens of fatalities. Insured losses range from $8 billion for the two largest fires to $40 billion for all of five. Total economic losses are expected to be well into the hundreds of billions of dollars. The blazes were driven by hurricane-force winds fanning over bone-dry brush—mercifully, the area has rain in the forecast over the weekend. The numbers from the fires, though likely to continue to change, are worth noting now. Rates The losses from the L.A. fires are expected to cause property insurance carriers to raise rates, reduce coverage options, or both, in California and other at-risk areas, according to S&P. This could be made worse in the “likely event that the California FAIR Plan falls short of funds,” S&P stated. “California wildfires have had a significant impact on the U.S. property insurance industry over the past three...
