As hundreds of Los Angeles residents return to find homes reduced to ashes due to a devastating wave of wildfires, many are fearful that their insurance policies may not cover the rebuild cost and that future premiums will be astronomical.

We need to make it incredibly expensive to build in these kinds of environments,’ one expert told The Independent. ‘If the insurance industry refuses to sell policies, maybe people won’t risk it’

The wind-driven wildfires burning out of control in the Los Angeles area couldn't have emerged at a more perilous moment for California's homeowners, as officials try to rehab what they concede is a deepening "insurance crisis.

Insurance is going to be even harder to come by, and it is going to get incredibly more expensive than it already is. People need to be prepared for that,” said Mark Newman-Kuzel, president and owner of The Mark Newman-Kuzel Agency in Los Angeles,