homeowners insurance News

Zurich Insurance Sees $200 Million LA Wildfire Loss

Zurich Insurance Group AG is expecting pretax losses of $200 million from the January California wildfires as the insurer reported a 5% gain in profit for 2024. Group operating profit rose to $7.75 billion in the year, the company said …

Airbnb Billionaire Plans Factory-Built Homes for LA Fire Victims

Billionaire Joe Gebbia, the co-founder of Airbnb Inc. and a board member of Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc., plans to donate $15 million of factory-built dwellings to victims of the Los Angeles wildfires. The pre-fabricated houses — made by Gebbia’s startup, …

Farmers Estimates $600M in Losses from LA Wildfires

Farmers said on Wednesday that it expects losses from the Los Angeles wildfires last month to reach an estimated $600 million. Insurance companies have so far paid out more than $6.9 billion for losses from the biggest two of the …

Scientists Racing to Discover Depth of Ocean Damage From LA Wildfires

On a recent Sunday, Tracy Quinn drove down the Pacific Coast Highway to assess damage wrought upon the coastline by the Palisades Fire. The water line was darkened by ash. Burnt remnants of washing machines and dryers and metal appliances …

California Wildfire Mitigation And Recovery Bill Package Introduced

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and a group of state lawmakers are pushing a 10-bill legislative package designed to improve disaster preparedness and help protect wildfire survivors. The bills intended focus are on consumer protection, climate resiliency and market strength. …

Southern California Edison Gear Ignited More Fires in 2024 Than Previous Year

Southern California Edison’s equipment ignited nearly 60% more fires in 2024 than in the previous year, mainly tiny ones that were quickly extinguished, as the utility battled to prevent catastrophe in the months leading up to the Los Angeles wildfires. …

Mercury Expects to Lose $1.6B to $2B From LA Wildfires

Although Mercury Insurance Group expects gross losses from the 2025 California wildfires in the $1.6 billion-$2.0 billion range, potential subrogation and reinsurance recoveries will drop the ultimate bill down to $325 million or less, the company believes. “We believe there …

2 Million Acres in California Designated High Or Very High Fire Danger Areas

Reflecting intensifying wildfires and updated science, new state maps designate more than 2.3 million acres of local land in California as facing “high” or “very high” danger of wildfires. In the wake of devastating fires in Los Angeles County, the …

Hawaii Lawmakers Seek Tougher Fireworks Enforcement Following Explosion

State senators have declined to move forward with a statewide ban on all fireworks, and instead are working to significantly strengthen law enforcement’s ability to investigate and prosecute fireworks cases. Within the last week, measures to increase fireworks penalties, boost …

What’s Tying Up $4B Settlement for Hawaii Wildfire Victims

Hawaii’s Supreme Court heard arguments last week over insurance issues that are tying up a potential $4 billion settlement over Maui’s catastrophic 2023 wildfire, the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century. The massive inferno decimated the historic …