LA Wildfire Insurance-Loss Estimates Approach $40 Billion
A firefighter hoses down a burning house during the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, on Jan. 8.
Photographer: Michael Nigro/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The cost of wildfires ravaging swaths of Los Angeles keeps rising, with new estimates of the total losses for the insurance industry now seen as high as $40 billion.
The fresh figure Tuesday from Keefe Bruyette & Woods analysts is double their rough initial estimate from just a day earlier. In a note to clients, they cited “continuing upside insured loss potential” as the fires across the region remain largely uncontrolled. Their most optimistic scenario implies insured losses of $25 billion.