California wildfire insurance claims top $12 billion from November alone, $13 billion for all 2018

May 09--The insurance bill for wildfires in California in November alone rose by $614 million during the first three months of 2019, pushing the total above $12 billion.

The claims were generated by homeowners and businesses as they continued the long process of cataloguing their damages from the Camp Fire in Paradise and Butte County and the Woolsey and Hill Fires in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, the California Department of Insurance said Wednesday.

The announcement came as Wildfire Preparedness Week got under way, and the department urged people to take stock of their coverage while they still can.

"While last year's tragic wildfires turned thousands of people's lives upside down, insurance is helping to rebuild and recover," said Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara in a statement. "With these record-breaking fires still fresh in our memory, having the right insurance coverage for your home or business should be part of your preparation plan too."

November was the most destructive wildfire month in California history, with several major fires ripping through hundreds of thousands of acres. The Camp Fire destroyed almost the entire town of Paradise, scorching 153,336 acres in Butte County. Along its path were 13,972 residences, 528 commercial and 4,293 other buildings, reported state wildfire information website Cal Fire at the time. Only 10% of the 27,000-population town's homes were left standing. Eighty-five people were killed in that fire.

The fires of 2017 were not much better, generating more than $11.8 billion in claims, the Associated Press reported.

Factoring in wildfires from 2018 in total, the insured losses topped $13 billion, the insurance department said.

"Wildfire has long been part of California's landscape and insurers understand that California faces major wildfire risk," said Nicole Mahrt-Ganley of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, representing about 60 percent of the nation's property casualty insurance market, in a statement to AP.

She suggested several ways people could prepare to ward off fire damage, both with more insurance and by creating "defensible space" around their homes, AP said.

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