Latest Wildfire Headlines

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

Insurers Increasing Payments to California Wildfire Victims Sans Itemization

Jan 18 2018 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones on Thursday released the results of the formal notice he issued last month to all residential property insurers requesting they provide up to 100 percent of contents coverage...

California Commissioner and Legislators Unveil Wildfire Insurance Bills

Jan 16 2018 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones and legislators from wildfire-damaged communities across the state unveiled eight bills and two additional legislative proposals proponents say will strengthen consumer...

Philadelphia Insurance Cos. Employees Plant Trees in Wildfire-Devastated Texas Park

Jan 12 2018 // Fifty Philadelphia Insurance Companies (PHLY) employees are supporting the company’s efforts to plant 80,000 trees for the third consecutive year through a two-day project near Austin, Texas.Employees have finished...

Alternative Capital Responds to 2017 Catastrophes with ‘Show of Strength’: Aon Benfield

Jan 11 2018 // Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria represented the first real test of the staying power of the alternative capital sector, which has responded with a show of strength by continuing to fund reinsurance capacity, according to...

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

Jan 11 2018 // XL Group Ltd. on Wednesday 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...

Southern California Edison Blamed in Lawsuit for 3 Los Angeles-Area Wildfires

Jan 10 2018 // Edison International’s Southern California Edison was blamed in a lawsuit for three wildfires that destroyed more than 1,000 buildings and killed a firefighter last month in the Los Angeles area.While no official...

California Wildfires Top Arch Capital’s Q4 Catastrophe Losses of $60M-$75M

Jan 10 2018 // Arch Capital Group reports estimated pre-tax losses of $60 million to $75 million from fourth quarter catastrophic events, primarily the California wildfires.This estimated range of losses – net of reinsurance recoveries...

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

Jan 9 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...

Wildfires Cost Montana $240M in Tourist Spending

Jan 8 2018 // A new report says summer fires cost the state of Montana $240 million in visitor spending.The report by the University of Montana’s Institute for Tourism and Recreational Research estimates that tourists spent almost...

California Commissioner Issues Report on Fire Insurance Availability Issues

Jan 4 2018 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones today released a report on the growing problem of homeowners fire insurance availability and affordability in many areas throughout the state.The report recommends changes in...

Top Insurance Journal West Stories of 2017

Dec 29 2017 // Trade secrets and Hippos, lawsuits and tragedies.The news for 2017 didn’t seem to be dominated by a single trend or sole event, but in an ever-fractured media world that must try and cater to short attention spans...

2017 ‘One of Worst’ for U.S. Weather with 15 Events Costing $1 Billion or More

Dec 29 2017 // In the year that President Donald Trump pulled out of the Paris accord and downplayed global warming as a security threat, the U.S. received a harsh reminder of the perils of the rise in the planet’s temperature: a...

Wildfires Cost Montana $240M in Tourist Spending

Dec 27 2017 // A new report says summer fires cost the state of Montana $240 million in visitor spending.The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported preliminary date released by the University of Montana’s Institute for Tourism and...

California Commissioner Asks Insurers to Forego Detailed Home Inventories in Wake of Wildfires

Dec 21 2017 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones is asking insurers to help California wildfire survivors by providing relief from detailed home inventories and to provide up to 100 percent of contents coverage limits without...

Microsoft Wants to Pit AI Against Climate Change

Dec 21 2017 // Red and green make yellow.And depending on how one feels about climate change, it could be considered a cautionary tale for the U.S. that China plans to create the world’s largest carbon market, possibly making it...

Catastrophe Bond Managers Put Hurricanes Behind Them, Plan New Launches

Dec 20 2017 // Hedge funds and other managers of catastrophe bond funds racked up some of the worst losses in more than a decade from this year’s hurricanes and wildfires.But a year that is shaping up to be the costliest on record...

Calm Winds Aid Firefighters in Making Progress on California Fire

Dec 19 2017 // Crews are using a break in winds to do a controlled burn to remove dry brush and build containment lines around Southern California’s Thomas Fire.Fire spokesman Capt. Rick Crawford said Tuesday that officials will...

House Republicans Eye Disaster Aid, Short-Term Funding Bill

Dec 19 2017 // House Republicans agreed Monday on $81 billion in disaster relief for areas hit by hurricanes and wildfires, the largest standalone aid bill in recent years, according to a document provided by a Republican lawmaker.The...

Homeowners Fear Losing Insurance in Midst of California Fires

Dec 18 2017 // California homeowners and regulators have a new fear about wildfires ravaging the state: that insurers will drop coverage.Massive, out-of-season fires in northern and southern California are causing billions of dollars in...

California Wildfire Claims Top $9.4B, Department of Insurance Says

Dec 18 2017 // California Commissioner Dave Jones announced in early December that the total of insured losses from the wildfires in California in October had topped $9.4 billion in residential and commercial claims.That figure is near...