Latest Wildfire Headlines

All the headlines from our Wildfire Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Berkshire’s 14-Year Insurance Win Streak Comes to an End

Feb 26 2018 // Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway’s combination of insurance entities have recorded 14 consecutive years of underwriting profit worth more than $28 billion. The Oracle from Omaha has repeatedly warned his...

AIG’s Doubling of Q4 Loss Pinned on Wildfires, Tax Act

Feb 9 2018 // American International Group reported a net loss of $6.7 billion for the fourth quarter of 2017, compared to a net loss of $3.0 billion in the prior-year quarter. The fourth quarter of 2017 net loss included a charge of...

Climate Change and the ‘Fire Insurance Predicament’

Feb 8 2018 // A Washington-based conservative group is suing for information on the U.S. government’s “backstage work” on the Paris agreement it says will help pave the way for President Trump’s withdrawal from...

CoreLogic Identifies Flood and Wildfire as the Two Most Destructive Natural Hazards in 2017

Feb 7 2018 // This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic.CoreLogic® analyzes and evaluates the number and severity of natural hazard events that occur across the U.S. in its Natural Hazard Risk Summary and Analysis in order...

Thousands of Acres Scorched by Northeastern Oklahoma Wildfires

Feb 5 2018 // Firefighters say wildfires have scorched thousands of acres of dry grasslands in northeastern Oklahoma.Dozens of firefighters fought a grassfire along Oklahoma Highway 20 in Osage County Saturday evening that officials say...

Winter Wildfires Scorch Oklahoma

Feb 5 2018 // Firefighters say wildfires have scorched hundreds of acres in western Oklahoma, damaging fences and equipment but causing no injuries.Capt. Forrest Valentine of the Clinton Fire Department said firefighters battled two...

Texas AG Sues Tree Company Over Deadly, Damaging 2011 Wildfire

Feb 5 2018 // Texas is suing a vegetation management company that it alleges caused the 2011 Bastrop County Complex Fire, the most destructive wildfire in Texas history.The lawsuit filed on Jan. 19 by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton...

Report Calls out California Wildfires Among 2017 U.S. Hazards

Feb 5 2018 // CoreLogic’s annual Natural Hazard Risk Summary and Analysis released in late January shows that 2017 was a year of relatively average activity for most U.S. natural hazards with the exception of wildfires in...

Statewide Claims for California Wildfires Reach Nearly $12B

Jan 31 2018 // Insurers have received nearly 45,000 insurance claims totaling more than $11.79 billion in losses from the wildfires that burned across the state in October and December 2017, California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones...

Chubb Records Solid Q4 and Year Despite Catastrophe Losses

Jan 31 2018 // Chubb had a solid last quarter of 2017 and year even though challenged by wildfire and other catastrophe costs. Fourth quarter results were enhanced by a one-time gain from the Trump tax cuts.The insurer booked $1.5...

Winter Wildfires Scorch Western Oklahoma

Jan 30 2018 // Firefighters say wildfires have scorched hundreds of acres in western Oklahoma, damaging fences and equipment but causing no injuries.Capt. Forrest Valentine of the Clinton Fire Department said Sunday firefighters battled...

2017’s Natural Hazards and the Destruction They Brought: CoreLogic

Jan 25 2018 // CoreLogic’s annual Natural Hazard Risk Summary and Analysis shows that 2017 was a year of relatively average activity for most U.S. natural hazards with the exception of wildfires in California and flooding from...

Insured Natural Disaster Losses in 2017 Were 38% of Economic Costs of $353B: Aon

Jan 24 2018 // Insured losses for last year’s 330 natural catastrophes reached US$134 billion, or 38 percent of their economic price tag of $353 billion, according to a report published by Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield’s...

Losses From Southern California Fire Could Reach $2.5B, Expert Says

Jan 23 2018 // Losses from the Thomas Fire in Southern California are expected to fall between $1 billion and $2.5 billion, a catastrophe modeling firm said on Tuesday.The Thomas Fire, which raged across Southern California’s...

Tree Company Sued, Blamed for 2011 Texas Wildfire that Killed 2

Jan 23 2018 // Texas is suing a vegetation management company that it alleges caused the 2011 Bastrop County Complex Fire, the most destructive wildfire in Texas history.The lawsuit filed on Jan. 19 by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton...

Travelers Manages Q4 Profit Despite Wildfires, Tax Hit

Jan 23 2018 // Property/casualty insurance giant Travelers Companies Inc. reported net income of $551 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2017, a 42 percent drop compared to $943 million in the prior year quarter. The drop was...

XL Group: Loss Estimates of $45M Related to Southern California Wildfires

Jan 22 2018 // XL Group Ltd. in mid-January announced preliminary estimates of natural catastrophe net losses of roughly $45 million related to the recent wildfires in Southern California and $20 million related to other events.The...

California Commissioner Issues Report on Fire Insurance Availability Issues

Jan 22 2018 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones in mid-January released a report on the growing problem of homeowners fire insurance availability and affordability in many areas throughout the state.The report recommends...

California Wholesaler Conference Questions: Rising Premiums, Disruption, Disasters?

Jan 22 2018 // Surplus lines in California had a great year with more premium and more items, such as policies and endorsements sold.However, surplus lines brokers had to work harder for all that premium. That’s according to Ben...

California Earthquake Authority Chief Talks About 1 Million Policies

Jan 18 2018 // Glenn Pomeroy, CEO of the California Earthquake Authority, is as enthusiastic of an earthquake policy salesman as you’ll find anywhere.Pomeroy has headed the state’s privately funded, publicly managed seller of...