Wildfire Zones Insurance

Wildfires are only rivaled by hurricanes and floods as the largest payouts for claims filed on homeowners policies. The widespread devastation is increasingly becoming one of the fastest growing sectors of high risk homeowners insurance due to the large financial losses after the recent disasters in California as well as in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. 

Historically, coastal areas have been the main areas that insurance companies have deemed large swaths of land as high risk, but insurance companies are now labeling parts of states and even entire counties as high risk. . 

There are many different factors that will likely continue to result in a growing frequency for brushfire claims on homeowners insurance policies. As the population of many cities swell, many people continue to move to less populated rural areas that have not had a high level of human activity and are not fully prepared for the influx of potential hazards people cause. Areas of new construction where there are large gaps filled with brush between homes or even entire towns raises the threat. 

These areas lead to many of the large losses that home insurance companies are learning how to deal with from an underwriting standpoint. While natural causes of wildfires such as lightning can and do occur, 85% of wildfires are due to human causes such as campfire, discarded cigarettes, the burning of debris and arson. Not only are these risks increasing as the population grows, but many scientists believe the changing climate will exacerbate an already disastrous problem..