The New York Daily News website reported on January 31 that, following the largest wildfires in California's modern history in 2017, insurance claims have reached as high as $11.8 billion (approximately RMB 74.15 billion), which will also become the "costliest" wildfires in the state's history.

        According to the report, this figure exceeds the combined insurance claims of California's previous 10 so-called "costliest wildfires." Data from the Insurance Information Institute shows that, before 2017, the costliest wildfire in California history was the 1991 Oakland Hills fire, with claims equivalent to $2.7 billion today (approximately RMB 16.97 billion).

        Dave Jones, the institute's insurance affairs specialist, said at a press conference that if the two fires of October and December 2017 are treated as one disaster, it would be "the worst natural disaster in California's history."

        Of the 2017 insurance claims, nearly $1.8 billion (approximately RMB 11.31 billion) arose from the December Southern California fires. This rare winter fire was spread by strong winds. The wildfires in Ventura and Santa Barbara burned 282,000 acres (approximately 114,000 hectares) of vegetation, an area larger than the city of San Diego and the largest in the state's history.

        The report also noted that the Southern California claims figure could continue to rise, as many people need time to complete the claims process. The above claims figure does not include claims by the town of Montecito for homes and vehicles destroyed in the December 2017 mudslides. Local residents' insurance claims for losses from the October 2017 wildfires had already risen to $10 billion (approximately RMB 62.84 billion).

        Jones said the series of wildfires destroyed or damaged 32,000 homes, 43,000 businesses and more than 8,200 cars, boats and other equipment, and caused dozens of deaths.

        These figures do not include the losses of the uninsured, nor the losses of schools and other public buildings. Jones said insurers have sufficient reserves to pay the claims, but they may reassess fire risk, raise premiums or decline to provide coverage, especially for homes near woodlands.

Source: China Daily 2018-02-06