State Farm reported that as of yesterday it had received 1,400 homeowners’ insurance claims and 850 auto insurance claims related to the California wildfires.
The fires, which began on October 08, have scorched about 170,000 acres of land, damaged at least 3,500 structures and taken the lives of at least 23 people. Latest reports say that firefighters continue to deal with 22 instances of wildfire across multiple California counties.
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Napa Valley Register noted that most of the State Farm claims are in the Sonoma and Napa counties. The insurer did not reveal a breakdown of the claims in both regions.
Some 20,000 residents of areas close to the wildfires were forced to evacuate as the fires continue to spread.
Meanwhile, at least 7,000 residents in Napa County were without power, ABC News reported.
At a press conference, Sonoma County Sheriff Robert Giordano said that the wildfires will be “one of the worst natural disasters in California history.”
According to home insurance data analyst CoreLogic, about 60% of homes in America are underinsured by an average of about 20%. This means a policyholder with a home valued at $500,000 could receive an insurance payout that is $100,000 less.
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