Wildfire Season Preview: Rest of 2025 Is High-Risk, May Follow LA Wildfires Paradigm
Article 0 Comments Following the “paradigm-shifting” Los Angeles wildfires in January, the 2024-2025 wildfire season will be remembered as a turning point for the insurance industry, and a warning that “wildfire is no longer a seasonal or rural phenomenon,” a new outlook asserts. The rest of 2025 poses severe wildfire risk in numerous states thanks to developing drought conditions, including high risk in wildfire-prone California, according to a report from ZeztyAI. The L.A. wildfires killed 29 people, and damaged or destroyed thousands of properties. The fallout of the fires included large losses for major California insurers, including State Farm. The carrier is asking the California Department of Insurance to approve a large rate increase. According to the California Department of Insurance, 37,749 claims have been filed related to the fires and $12.1 billion has been paid out. However, the wildfire perils weren’t only in California. Related: Homeowners Suing USAA and AAA Insurers Over LA Wildfires “From New Mexico, where one of the state’s most destructive wildfires validated early high-risk forecasts, to blazes in the Midwest and Southeast, the 2024 season revealed wildfire’s expanding geographic footprint, relentless pace, and increasingly unpredictable behavior,” the report stated. “For insurance carriers, it exposed the...