Wildfire cat bond news

Pacific Gas & Electric Co’s (PG&E) liability insurance tower is still expected to face a total loss in the face of significant claims for wildfire damages, despite the utilities impending bankruptcy status.

The $200m Cal Phoenix Re Ltd. (Series 2018-1) catastrophe bond, which was sponsored by now under-pressure California electrical utility PG&E, has become the subject of a significant amount of interest from a range of investors and law firms that see a potential opportunity to speculate on its fate or divert the collateral funds.

Asset management giant Amundi Pioneer Investment Management has again raised its expectations for the level of losses its interval-style mutual insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund will face from the recent California wildfires.

Questions related to the hours clause are being raised with respect to the recent California wildfires, as some cedants look to the possibility of claiming more than once on their reinsurance or retrocession protection, Artemis has learned.

The insurance and reinsurance industry loss estimate for the northern Californian Camp wildfire has now been estimated as from $6 billion up to $9 billion by catastrophe risk modeller AIR Worldwide.

The Woolsey wildfire in southern California is estimated to have caused at least a $2.5 billion insurance and reinsurance industry loss by catastrophe risk modeller AIR Worldwide.

The insurance and reinsurance industry loss from the recent California wildfires could be as much as $15 billion, which would still be a manageable impact although reduce fourth-quarter earnings, according to Moody’s.

The recent California wildfire outbreak proved a very difficult catastrophe event to estimate losses to insurance and reinsurance linked assets, as the numbers of properties destroyed by the fire and so the estimated costs kept rising as authorities uncovered more of the damage.

The recent Camp and Woolsey wildfires in the state of California are estimated to have caused total residential and commercial property losses of between $15 billion and $19 billion, according to Corelogic.

The latest outbreak of California wildfires have now burned their way through more than 20,000 residential or commercial properties and minor structures and this is expected to result in economic losses of above $10 billion, if not much higher, according to broker Aon, with the majority expected to be insured.