Survey: Majority of
October's California Wildfire Claims Settled
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Insurance Journal
April 2008
A new survey of insurance
companies estimates that nearly 90 percent of claims stemming from the
devastating October 2007 fire and wind storms in California have been
settled.
A poll by the Insurance
Information Network of California of companies representing nearly
two-thirds of California's homeowner insurance market found that they
have settled 29,954 of their 33,789 residential claims from the October
catastrophe. To date, those claims have resulted in more than $1.27
billion worth of claims settlements among the surveyed companies, which
expect those claims to ultimately total $1.47 billion, IINC said.
By comparison, roughly 86
percent of claims from the 2003 wildfires had been settled by April
2004, according to a previous IINC survey. The 2003 wildfires resulted
in the destruction of 3,600 homes and the filing of 19,100 insurance
claims valued at $2.04 billion. Although about 1,400 fewer homes burned
in the 2007 conflagration, the wind and fire storms resulted in a much
greater number of claims.
In January, the California
Department of Insurance estimated that the fires alone resulted in more
than 33,000 claims valued at an estimated $2 billion. The dramatic
increase is largely attributed to claims for lodging expenses during
the mandatory evacuation of much of San Diego County.
"Though it can be a long
road from insurance claim to move-in, fire survivors, insurers and
contractors are moving with unprecedented speed to recover from this
catastrophe," said IINC Executive Director Candysse Miller.
The survey tallied brushfire
and wind-related homeowners insurance claims settled. Wind storms which
fanned the flames also resulted in thousands of insurance claims, and
could not always be separated from fire claims in the data request.
Insurance claims are considered "settled" when the
policyholder agrees to a financial settlement on their claim. It is
only closed after a home is rebuilt, cleared inspections and ready to
be moved into.
Auto insurance claims were not
surveyed in the most recent poll.
The majority of disaster
insurance claims are typically for so-called "partial
losses," or household damage caused by smoke or even firefighting
materials. Those who lost their homes may still face a long road to
recovery as they work with architects, contractors, planning
departments and insurance representatives.
The Insurance Information
Network of California is a non-profit, non-lobbying trade association
supported by the property and casualty insurance industry.
For more Property & Casualty
headlines, visit www.insurancejournal.com.
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