Bastrop Wildfire Costliest in Texas History
This home in the Tahitian Village community was completely destroyed by the wildfire. Photo by Lizzie Chen/KUT NewsThe Insurance Council of Texas estimates that $325 million will be paid out to people who lost houses during the Labor Day wildfires in Bastrop County. More than 1,600 homes were destroyed earlier this year.
“This one individual fire – the Bastrop fire – has become the costliest wildfire in Texas history,” said Mark Hanna, spokesperson for the Insurance Council of Texas.
Hanna said although approximately 90 percent of these homes were insured, some of them were under-insured. No insurance company has increased rates because of the fires so far, but Hanna said it could still happen.
The Texas Department of Insurance is reviewing an October filing by Farmers Insurance, which proposed raising premiums by almost 10 percent for all Texas homeowners next March. The company said claims in Texas have become costly over the last three years because of the Bastrop wildfires and 2008’s Hurricane Ike.
