The Eaton Fire, which ravaged Altadena in California, has turned Jeff and Jennifer Cohen’s home into a shell.
Jeff replied: “I don’t know if anything is salvageable. I think some walls are up and it looks like the second level collapsed on the first.
It will take some time to get the money needed to rebuild. They have found temporary housing but received a letter from their insurance company in September stating that their policy would not be renewed. Over 100,000 Los Angeles homeowners had their insurance cancelled before the recent wildfires.
Jeff replied, “It is because of the fire danger.” You know, it’s a danger of fire. “We were in a place where they could no longer provide insurance.”
JPMorgan analysts say that insurers may have to pay out more than $20 billion from the latest wildfire disaster.
Frances Moore is an associate professor at the University of California who specializes in climate change . We want insurers to be able to accurately assess the risk.
Natural disasters have caused insurance companies to suffer losses of tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars.
Rob Newbold, of Verisk’s risk assessment company, says that computer-generated catastrophe models could be used to plan financially for these disasters.
Newbold explained: “How do the climate conditions in terms temperature and weather, combined with the location of the properties with the infrastructure, such as things like putting out the fires, the prevalence of local firefighters, the prevalence of fire breaks in the locality — all these factors come together to run simulations on what could happen in the next year of activities,” he said.
Verisk offers models to all insurers in the United States, covering everything from hurricanes to wildfires.
“We’ve got this darker red color in and around Beverly Hills. This indicates a greater risk of loss, depending on the ignition, spread, intensity and value of exposures within that zip code. Verisk explained that the insurance company will be able to understand this potential loss and have enough money in hand to pay out claims.
California’s regulators had prohibited the use of models such as these to set rates under an old law, which was intended to protect consumers. , however, is lifting this ban. Verisk was the first to submit their models for approval.
The Cohens finally found coverage but it was through a pool sponsored by the government at a cost much higher than they had previously paid. Even this pool may not be able to cover all the claims expected for Los Angeles fire damage.
After the fires destroyed their 23-year-old home, the couple doesn’t know if they can rebuild. They are now in limbo.
