Heritage Insurance, a super-regional P&C insurance holding company, has said that it expects to incur pre-tax, net current accident quarter catastrophe losses from the Los Angeles, California wildfires of between $35 million and $40 million in the first quarter of 2025.
In a statement, the firm explained that it is participating in insurance villages in the State of California, “which are events where our personnel can meet directly with affected policyholders to support our insureds’ recovery.”
Ernie Garateix, Chief Executive Officer, Heritage, commented, “We want to express our deepest sympathies for all those affected by the Southern California wildfires.
“Heritage is deeply committed to supporting our customers and communities as they begin the difficult process of recovering from such a devastating event. We are also proud of the continued work from our teams, who are working tirelessly to process claims quickly and provide resources to those in need.”
Alongside the wildfire estimate, Heritage has reported that it expects to deliver its best earnings quarter of the year in the fourth quarter of 2024, surpassing the $18.9 million after-tax net income achieved in the second quarter of the year.
This “strong” result includes an estimated $57 million impact from Hurricane Milton, which Heritage confirms includes retained catastrophe losses of $40 million and a net reinstatement premium of $17 million. The firm reported previously that this loss would possibly breach the third layer of its reinsurance tower.
At the same time, Heritage has revealed that lower-than-anticipated non-catastrophe accident year losses had a favourable impact on the fourth quarter result.
As of January 21st, 2025, Heritage had settled over 9,000 2024 hurricane claims, and has closed approximately 90% of the reported claims, paying out more than $140 million to policyholders.
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