Jones issued a formal notice to all property & casualty insurance companies on Jan. 29 reminding them of their duty to cover damages from the recent mudslides and debris flows.

The wildfires in California in 2017 were devastating, but almost worse were the mudslides that followed. Insurers doing business in California were aware that they would be facing significant losses and thousands of claims, but the magnitude of the damage only became available recently.

According to California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones, as of March 31, 2018, insurers have received over 2,000 insurance claims totaling more than $421 million in losses from the Montecito mudslide. More than 400 homes and businesses were destroyed or damaged, and 21 people died as a result.

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Denny Jacob

Denny Jacob is an associate editor for NU PropertyCasualty360. Contact him at [email protected].