Beazley expects $40m California wildfire hit

Specialty insurer Beazley expects the cost of claims arising from the 2018 California wildfires to be around $40 million, net of reinsurance.

Total insured losses from The Camp and Woolsey Wildfires are expected to reach between $10-$15 billion, according to Moody's. The wildfires destroyed over 20,000 residential and commercial structures, and additionally damaged almost 1,000 structures.

Beazley added that its year to date investment return to Nov. 30, 2018 was 0.5 percent ($27 million). It noted that the investment markets continue to be volatile.

In the first nine months of 2018 Beazley’s gross premiums written increased by 11 percent year on year to $1.95 billion. It said growth was achieved across all divisions. Specialty lines, its largest division, grew by 11 percent to $1 billion driven by a strong performance in the US, the company said.