Weather & Science
Los Angeles Fires Become Existential Test for California’s Stopgap Insurer
The most expensive wildfire in US history could put a $5 billion hole in the state-sponsored home insurer of last resort.
A police vehicle drives past the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Jan. 7.
Photographer: Kyle Grillot/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The conflagrations tearing across Los Angeles are on track to be among the most expensive wildfire disasters in US history, draining insurance coffers and threatening California’s massive state-sponsored insurance program.
Losses from the fires “could push insurance markets over the brink in California,” said Michael Wara, a senior researcher for climate and energy at Stanford University and a wildfire expert.