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Predictive & Transparent Wildfire Risk Analytics for the Insurance Industry

 

 

Measuring the impact of next-generation hazard scores and property-level defensible space on wildfire risk and house fire risk

Wildfire risk across the western United States has become a challenging issue for the insurance industry, especially in California. Between recent major loss events, regulatory pressures, and updated analytics, the space is rapidly evolving. The analysis in this report, conducted by CAPE and HazardHub, brings together the problem of quantifying mitigation measures, specifically vegetation management, and a combined analytics solution from CAPE and HazardHub. This combined solution quantifies the wildfire risk to a property at the resolution and transparency level required to instill confidence on the part of insurance carriers, Departments of Insurance, and consumers. The primary goal is to provide an understanding of this solution and drive conversations about its applicability for wildfire risk quantification across the insurance market.

These results show that properties in high hazard areas can dramatically reduce their wildfire risk by cutting back vegetation in CAPE Zone 1, 0 to 10 feet from the structure. The level of risk reduction is all the more impactful because such measures are a realistic and achievable mitigation option for most homeowners.

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Key Takeaways
The HazardHub Wildfire Score is extremely predictive when identifying the wildfire hazard potential and claims for a location.
Homes with heavy vegetation coverage in CAPE Zone 1 (0-10 feet) have 115% higher wildfire claim frequency and 272% higher loss ratio than homes with defensible space.
Homes in very high hazard zones with heavy vegetation coverage in CAPE Zone 1 (0-10 feet) have 5X the loss ratio of homes with defensible space.
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