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19 November 2018Insurance

California wildfire property reconstruction may cost $8.6bn

Within the perimeters of the Camp Fire in Northern California and the Woolsey Fire in Southern California 23,044 homes with a total reconstruction cost value (RCV) of approximately $8.6 billion are at high or extreme risk of wildfire damage, according to CoreLogic estimates.

Due to the increased containment of these two wildfires, data provider CoreLogic has revised the area of analysis from ZIP code regions to the actual wildfire perimeters. RCVs represent the cost to completely rebuild a property in the worst-case scenario of total destruction of the structure, including labour and materials by geographic location. While other hazards may cause partial destruction but rarely eliminate an entire property, wildfire events are more likely to cause total loss to structures affected.

The Camp Fire started on Nov. 8 burning 150,000 acres and is 65 percent contained, according to latest information form the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). The wildfire has destroyed 10,364 residences, 418 commercial and 2,992 other buildings, according to Cal Fire.

The Woolsey Fire also started on Nov. 8 burning 96,949 acres and is 91 percent contained as of Nov. 18. So far, 1,452 structures have been destroyed and 337 have been damaged, according to Cal Fire.

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More on this story

Insurance
19 November 2018   S&P Global Ratings expects the insured losses from wildfires in northern and southern California to be contained as an earnings event and for the reinsurance sector to be able to absorb the impact from these fires as well as recent hurricanes although catastrophe budgets will be strained.
Insurance
19 November 2018   Insured losses from The Camp and Woolsey Wildfires are expected to reach between $9 billion and $13 billion, according to data provider RMS.
Insurance
23 November 2018   The Camp fire in Northern California, officially deemed the most destructive and deadliest wildfire on record in the state, is contained to 95 percent while the Woolsey fire in Southern California is now fully extinguished, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).