Fires in Los Angeles: At $20 billion the “account” for insurance companies – threatened with collapse

The first calculations of the cost that insurance companies will be called upon to pay in the US to repair damage from Los Angeles, form a “account” that threatens the industry with bankruptcy. As quoted in a Bloomberg report, JPMorgan Chase already warned that the blow to insurance companies could exceed $20 billion, doubling the estimate of the same bank from a day earlier. Only Eaton’s fire has damaged or destroyed more than 5,000 buildings, officials said Thursday (09.01.2025). California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued a mandatory one-year moratorium on non-renewal and cancellations of insurance in the affected areas, according to a California Insurance Department announcement. CORVERSE At the same time, the private predictive company AccuWeather estimates total financial losses at $135 to $150 billion, presupposing a difficult recovery of the area and ejecting the insurance costs of homeowners, while bankruptcy is threatened, in addition to private insurance companies, and the state insurer “last chance” for homes in places commercial insurance companies regard as uninsured. Meanwhile, lawyers representing insurance companies asked the electricity company Edison International in Southern California to provide evidence in connection with the killing fire Eaton, Los Angeles, Bloomberg reports. No fire department has so far indicated that the company’s electrical installations are involved in an ignition that caused fires in Los Angeles or has not requested the removal or maintenance of equipment, according to a statement by the company that was posted late Thursday (09.01.2025) to the California regulators. CORVERSE The Eaton fire is one of the many fires that broke out in the Los Angeles area on Tuesday during extreme winds. Edison of Southern California had deliberately discontinued electrification in more than 100,000 homes and businesses as the fires were reinforced to reduce the risk of its cables causing fires. The utility company reported in the testimony that its preliminary analysis showed that the transport lines near the beginning of the fire were under voltage and showed no interruptions or electrical or operating anomalies up to an hour after the reported time of the fire.