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California wildfires seen as costliest for insurers since 1991

The wildfires ravaging Northern California may be the costliest for the insurance industry in more than two decades by the time the blazes are controlled.

By Katherine Chiglinsky, Sonali Basak | Updated on September 16, 2015
Richard and Kathie Reeves embrace as they stand in the remains of the home of close friends that was destroyed in a wildfire several days earlier, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2015, in Middletown, Calif. The fire that sped through Middletown and other parts of rural Lake County, less than 100 miles north of San Francisco, has continued to burn since Saturday despite a massive firefighting effort. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

(Bloomberg) — The wildfires ravaging Northern California may be the costliest for the insurance industry in more than two decades by the time the blazes are controlled.

“Although it is too early to provide any current loss estimates, the Valley fire could become the largest wildfire loss event in Northern California since the Oakland firestorm in 1991,” Mark Bove, senior research meteorologist at Munich Re, said in an e-mail Wednesday. That firestorm cost more than $2.6 billion in 2014 dollars, according to Property Claim Services data compiled by the Insurance Information Institute.

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