Insurers prepare to handle California wildfire claims

Insurance companies said yesterday it was too soon to determine how much they would have to pay for claims from wildfires that have already burned more than 80 homes in California and threatened thousands more. A massive Los Angeles-area fire threatened 12,000 homes, having burned at least 21 already. At least 6,600 were under mandatory evacuation orders as the fire moved north, south and east through the foothills northeast of the city on Monday. Another 2,000 homes were threatened in San Bernardino County. And northeast of Sacramento, a fire that began Sunday afternoon destroyed 60 structures, many of them homes, in the town of Auburn, Calif. "It's really hard to tell how much damage our customers have had until we can get our adjusters into the areas," Rich Halberg, a spokesman for Allstate Corp., said of the Los Angeles fire. Allstate, along with other national insurance companies including Travelers Cos., Farmers Insurance Group and Nationwide, have already sent catastrophe teams to the affected areas. "As soon as we can safely get access to the area, we can assess damage," Halberg said. Because wildfires are common in Southern California, industry executives said the companies were prepared. "Insurance is there for these type of disasters and insurers keep up reserves for these type of events," said Pete Moraga, spokesman for the Insurance Information Network of California. "We're very much in understanding of that because catastrophes happen almost continuously." Since 1990, the seven largest wildfires in California resulted in more than $6 billion in insured losses, as well as scorched millions of acres and damaged or destroyed thousands of homes. It is estimated that losses from wildfires in California totaled $721 million last year, while 2007 saw insured losses totaling more than $2.3 billion, according to Insurance Information Network of California data. State Farm Insurance Cos. spokesman Bob Devereux said already a dozen claims have been filed from the fire in Auburn, and the company could "have dozens more," he said. Investors showed little reaction to the news of potential losses, as insurance stocks were relatively quiet Monday. Allstate fell 6 cents to $29.20 in afternoon trading, while Travelers rose 17 cents to $49.78.