Insurers Paid $676.3M in Residential Claims From Maui Fires Through Sept. 30

Insurers have paid out $676.3 million in claims for residential damage in two sites in Maui, Hawaii, related to the August wildfires, according to the office of Gov. Josh Green.

Source: Best Wire | Published on November 8, 2023

Hawaii wildfire

Insurers have paid out $676.3 million in claims for residential damage in two sites in Maui, Hawaii, related to the August wildfires, according to the office of Gov. Josh Green.

The bulk of those claims, $660.5 million, was connected to the west Maui fires, with the remainder allocated to up-country Maui fires, according to a preliminary reports from a data call of property/casualty and surplus lines insurers. There were 3,732 claims in west Maui, and 299 from up-country, it said.

The data is as of Sept. 30.

Estimated total residential losses were $1.3 billion in west Maui, according to the data. For up-country, total residential losses were $32 million, it said.

“The data is preliminary and current as of Sept. 30, 2023,” Insurance Commissioner Gordon Ito said in a statement. “Behind every claim is a person, a family member, a homeowner, or a business owner. The loss we suffered as a state is unimaginable, but the Hawaii Insurance Division has been and will continue to support the people of Maui as they begin rebuilding.”

For personal motor vehicle claims, the division reported $21.7 million paid in west Maui on 1,985 claims reported, it said. In up-country Maui, insurers have paid $510,000 on 63 claims, it said.

Insurers likely incurred $4 billion to $6 billion of losses from the Lahaina, Hawaii wildfire, according to Guy Carpenter.

The top five writers of homeowners multiperil insurance in 2022 in Hawaii, based on direct premiums written, were: State Farm Group, with 35.15% market share; Tokio Marine US PC Group, 12.39%; Allstate Insurance Group, 8.04%; USAA Group, 7.11%; and Liberty Mutual Insurance Cos., 6.1%, according to BestLink.