PG&E Fire Insurance Costs Skyrocket After Bankruptcy, Fires
- Company paid $750 million for $1.4 billion of coverage
- PG&E wants customers to pay for increased insurance costs
PG&E workers repair a transformer in Paradise, California in 2018.
Photographer: Bloomberg/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
PG&E Corp. is finding it very costly to buy fire insurance after wildfires triggered by its power lines sent the company into bankruptcy and left it paying $25.5 billion for claims. It’s hoping customers will foot the bill.
The San Francisco-based company had to cough up about $750 million to secure $1.4 billion of liability coverage for the next 12 months, with only a little more than half of that dedicated to potential fire claims, Chief Financial Officer Jason Wells told investors Thursday during a second-quarter earnings call.