Most Popular Wildfire Headlines This Year

The most viewed headlines from our Wildfire Topic Page over the last year.

#1 ‘Buffett Got it Wrong’ on California Fire Risk: PG&E CEO

Apr 29 2024 // Warren Buffett’s warning that wildfires have turned utilities across the western US into risky investments is mistaken — at least in California, according to the head of the state’s largest electricity...

#2 Hub Launches High Net Worth Excess Wildfire Program in California

Feb 5 2024 // HUB International launched a new program to address the need for enhanced wildfire coverage of high value homes that will be offered exclusively by HUB Private Client to address the insurance and risk management needs of...

#3 Delos to Insurers Shedding Wildfire Risk: Send the Homes to Us

Jul 12 2023 // About 6 million homes in the U.S. are considered uninsurable due to wildfire risk. The models at Delos Insurance say about half of those homes are absolutely insurable. “Delos sees a lot more insurable homes in...

#4 California Insurance Commissioner: Allow Cat Modeling in Rates for Wildfires

Mar 14 2024 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said he will allow catastrophe modeling to be used in rate regulation for wildfires, a move he says will help restore insurance options for Californians, including...

#5 Hub Launches High Net Worth Excess Wildfire Program in California

Feb 19 2024 // HUB International launched a new program to address the need for enhanced wildfire coverage of high value homes that will be offered exclusively by HUB Private Client to address the insurance and risk management needs of...

#6 Growing Wildfire Risk Leaves States Grappling With How to Keep Insurers From Fleeing

May 1 2024 // Months after a catastrophic fire burned more than 2,200 homes in Hawaii, some property owners are getting more bad news—their property insurance won’t be renewed because their insurance company has deemed the risk...

#7 The Top 15 U.S. Metros with High Exposure to Wildfire Risk

May 7 2024 // The number of wildfires per year is going down, but the increasing size and intensity of the fires is creating more property damage than ever before – in fact, the average fire size has tripled over the past 30 years, a...

#8 Report: Wildfire Fears at ‘All-Time High’ and Driving Insurer Decisions in Property Market

Jun 12 2023 // Despite a relatively average 2022 wildfire season, fears of wildfires remain at an “all-time high,” and those fears appear to be one driver of decision-making on property insurance. A new report from Gallagher...

#9 Wildfires Are Upending Some of the Safest Bets on Wall Street

Apr 18 2024 // When the Texas Panhandle went up in flames this winter, the news spread fast on Wall Street. An electric utility by the name of Xcel Energy Inc. was getting blamed for the massive blaze — a lawsuit pointed the finger at...

#10 Allstate Records About $640M in August Cat Losses, Half From Maui Wildfire

Sep 21 2023 // Allstate reported about $641 million in August catastrophe losses from 18 events, with about half coming from the Maui wildfire. The losses for the month of August were $551 million or $435 million, after-tax, partially...

#11 Xcel Energy Utility Equipment Started Texas Wildfire, Homeowner Claims in Lawsuit

Mar 4 2024 // March 1 (Reuters) – A Texas homeowner whose house was destroyed by a massive wildfire raging northeast of Amarillo sued electric utility Xcel Energy XEL.O on Friday, alleging that a splintered power pole owned by the...

#12 Climate Change, Wildfire Risk and State Farm’s California Decision

Jun 1 2023 // Several reasons were given within State Farm’s announcement last week the carrier was no longer writing new personal or business property/casualty policies in California – including a challenging reinsurance...

#13 Many Texas Panhandle Homes Burned in Wildfires Weren’t Insured

Mar 5 2024 // FRITCH — Many Panhandle residents whose dwellings and possessions burned in the region’s ongoing wildfires may never financially recover for one simple reason: Their homes weren’t insured. “A lot of the...

#14 Warren Buffett’s PacifiCorp Now Faces $30B Claim Demand in Oregon Wildfires

May 1 2024 // Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s PacifiCorp now faces a demand for $30 billion from victims of Oregon’s 2020 Labor Day wildfires, an escalation of a legal onslaught on the largest grid operator in the western...

#15 Report: ‘Climate-Exacerbated Wildfires’ Cost U.S. $394B-$893B Each Year

Oct 23 2023 // “Climate-exacerbated wildfires” cost the nation $394 billion to $893 billion each year in economic costs and damages, according to a Congressional report out this week. The range combines estimates from...

#16 Wind-Driven Hawaii Wildfire Destroying Maui Tourist Town

Aug 9 2023 // A wildfire erupted in Maui on Wednesday fueled by strong winds from Hurricane Dora, destroying homes and businesses in a tourist town and forcing some residents to jump into the ocean to escape the flames. The Associated...

#17 2024 Oregon Consumer Laws Include Protections for Homeowners Dealing with Wildfire

Dec 29 2023 // Consumer protections for homeowners dealing with wildfire-related issues, property contents coverage, personal data protection and prescription drugs are set to go into effect in 2024. The Oregon Division of Financial...

#18 Homeowners Face Rising Insurance Rates as Climate Change Makes Wildfires, Storms More Common

Oct 16 2023 // A growing number of Americans are finding it difficult to afford insurance on their homes, a problem only expected to worsen because insurers and lawmakers have underestimated the impact of climate change, a new report...

#19 New $20M Coverage for California Commercial Property E&S Risks in Wildfire Areas

May 8 2024 // Wildfire Defense Insurance Services is offering a $20 million excess and surplus commercial property coverage for E&S risks in wildfire prone areas of California. The coverage is for total insured value up to $20...

#20 Utility Investors Wary of Exposures After Buffet’s PacifiCorp Held Liable for Wildfires

Jul 19 2023 // Destructive wildfires are now an almost routine part of summer in the American West, and electrical utilities have likewise become used to having their power lines and equipment blamed for igniting the blazes. But a jury...