By Jean Eaglesham
Estimates of the losses to insurers from the Los Angeles wildfires increased as the blazes spread.
Morningstar DBRS analysts now estimate a total insured loss of up to $30 billion, by far the highest for any wildfire in modern times. A few days ago, other industry watchers had pegged the cost to insurers at closer to $20 billion.
Morningstar forecast the disaster will:
-- Worsen the crisis in California's property insurance market
-- Have a "significant but manageable" impact on leading home insurers in the state, including Allstate, Travelers, Mercury General and Chubb
-- Increase costs for reinsurance, or the coverage insurers buy for major disasters. In turn that will put further upward pressure on California home-insurance premiums.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 15, 2025 11:00 ET (16:00 GMT)
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