Skip to content
Navigating a New Political Landscape: View real-time updates about the impact of and Northeastern's response to recent political changes.
Apply
Stories

California wildfire disaster: State’s insurance industry could see “catastrophic failures” in the coming days

People in this story

Megan Mantia, left, and her boyfriend Thomas, return to Mantia's fire-damaged home after the Eaton Fire swept through, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

As firefighters in California continue to battle multiple wildfires around Los Angeles, experts are sounding the alarm about a pending crisis in the insurance industry that would have enormous implications for the state’s recovery effort — and how homeowners rebuild. “I think we’re on the edge of a major financial crisis for the insurance industry,” says Daniel Aldrich, a Northeastern professor, director of the university’s Resilience Studies Program and co-director at the Global Resilience Institute. 

Early estimates of insured losses from the Pacific Palisades fire are hovering around $10 billion, reports show. The total losses for Los Angeles are projected between $20 billion and $50 billion. Since 2019, more than 100,000 Californians have been dropped from their insurance carriers as the region sees more frequent and intense wildfires, according to a San Francisco Chronicle analysis. Insurance companies there have been raising rates, canceling or non-renewing policies or leaving the state altogether. It’s been the story for some time.

Continue reading at Northeastern Global News.

More Stories

Gas pump fills a tank

Will the Federal Reserve pause rate cuts after January’s inflation uptick?

02.12.2025
A drawing depicts steam engines in America.

What is Jevons Paradox? And why it may — or may not — predict AI’s future

02.07.2025
Heart-shaped box of chocolates

How a Victorian-era marketing ploy made chocolate the ultimate Valentine’s Day gift

02.14.25
All Stories