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Insurers tell appropriations committee mitigation and building standards can improve insurability; IBHS and Firewise cited as models
Summary
Trade representatives from the American Property Casualty Insurance Association told the committee that rising wildfire losses and more homes in the wildland‑urban interface make mitigation and stronger building/landscape standards critical. They highlighted the IBHS Wildfire Prepared program and the NFPA Firewise USA approach and urged state and
Ethan Amman, senior director at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA), and Karen Collins, APCIA vice president for property and environmental matters, told the Joint Appropriations Committee that insurers are increasingly focused on home‑hardening, defensible space and community mitigation to reduce wildfire losses and preserve market availability.
APCIA described several mitigation programs and tools: the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) Wildfire Prepared home designation and the neighborhood‑scale Wildfire Resilient Neighborhood model; the National Fire Protection Association’s Firewise USA program (defensible‑space zones at 0–5 ft, 5–30 ft and 30–100+ ft); and community vegetation management such as prescribed fire and thinning. APCIA representatives said IBHS research shows targeted measures — including a noncombustible 5‑foot zone immediately around a structure — substantially reduce ignition risk from embers and flame contact.
Speakers also discussed incentives to increase mitigation at scale: targeted grants, low‑interest loans, sales‑tax exemptions for mitigation materials, permit‑fee waivers, tax credits, and mortgage or lender programs that finance mitigation costs over time. They noted one IBHS example in California where a builder committed to standards that raised construction costs by less than $3,000 per home compared with conventional construction, and they said mitigation at scale can reduce losses and improve insurability.
APCIA urged state and local leaders to use data‑driven approaches, building codes, land‑use planning and targeted incentives to reduce wildfire risk and called for investments that pair home hardening with community and vegetation management.
