Hawaii wildfire damages to cost billions of dollars: Aon

Wildfires which hit parts of Maui and the Big Island of Hawaii on Aug. 8-10 have already killed more than 50 people and will likely cause economic damages into the billions of dollars, according to a report Friday from Aon PLC’s Impact Forecasting.

Five main fires across the two islands were driven by strong winds associated with high winds from passing Hurricane Dora coupled with dry conditions, Aon said. The historic town of Lahaina in western Maui suffered widespread destruction with some 1,700 structures damaged or destroyed while thousands of residents have been evacuated, Aon noted in its report.

Insured losses will be minimally “into the hundreds of millions” of dollars, Aon said, adding “given that this situation is still ongoing, losses may continue to increase.”

According to market share data from A.M. Best Co. Inc., Allianz U.S. PC Insurance Cos. hold a 22.83% market share of the commercial multi-peril market in Hawaii, followed by DB Insurance U.S. Group with 19.18% and Tokio Marine U.S. PC Group with 18.16%. No other insurer has more than an 8% market share, according to A.M. Best data.

In the commercial auto physical damage market, Tokio Marine U.S. PC Group holds a 19.35% share of the market, followed by Great American P&C Insurance Group with 17.98% and Island Insurance Group with 11.13% of the market. No other insurer has more than an 8% share of the market, according to A.M. Best data.