California Wildfire losses could exceed $10bn

Losses from the California Wildfires will reach between $8 billion and $10.5 billion, according to risk modelling firm AIR Worldwide, which has now conducted a damage survey and acquired new information about policy terms, and a re-examined the replacement values of high-value homes within its industry exposure database (IED).

AIR’s loss estimates represent damage to residential, mobile home, commercial, and automobile lines of business, as well as direct business interruption losses; they include demand surge (increases in rebuild costs that result from shortages of labor and materials), but do not contemplate extra expenses such as debris removal.

It stressed that uncertainty remains regarding losses to vineyards and wineries. “While AIR does not expect losses to wineries and vineyards to constitute the major part of the losses from these fires (residential losses are expected to dominate), it may be that the value of the equipment, machinery, and inventory at the wineries may exceed the contents values contemplated in AIR’s Industry Exposure Database,” it said.

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