(Reuters) – Global analytics firm Verisk expects insured property losses from the Palisades and Eaton fires in the range of $28 billion to $35 billion, one of the highest loss estimates from the industry.
The insured losses from the Palisades fire is estimated between $20 billion and $25 billion, while losses from the Eaton fire could be between $8 billion and $10 billion, Verisk said.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
The Palisades fire between Santa Monica and Malibu on Los Angeles’ western flank and the Eaton Fire in the east near Pasadena already rank as the most destructive in the city’s history.
U.S. as well as European insurers are expected to face catastrophe-related claims worth billions of dollars from the disaster, which analysts estimate will be the costliest ever in California.
Citi earlier warned that Europe’s big four reinsurers – Munich Re, Swiss Re, Hannover Re and Scor – will have used up around a third of their 2025 natural catastrophe budgets in the first two weeks of the year.
CONTEXT
Insurers have been hit by rising catastrophe claims from several wildfires and other natural disasters over the past couple of years. The LA fires create a further dent to their catastrophe claims budgets.
Raging Los Angeles wildfires have destroyed hundreds of homes and stretched firefighting resources and water supplies to the limit. Several Hollywood celebrities lost their homes as wildfire spread to their neighborhood.
(Reporting by Jaiveer Singh Shekhawat in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
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