Homeowners Insurance and Wildfire

As natural disasters become more frequent and severe, homeowners insurance companies are spreading their risk. That means many companies are dropping policies in areas at high risk for wildfire across New Mexico, including in the Greater Santa Fe Fireshed.

The full scope of the problem has yet to be understood, but it is widely known among local fire department leaders, staff in the state Office of the Superintendent of Insurance, and homeowners in the wildland-urban interface that home insurance has in many areas become much more expensive and difficult to find.

In 2022, the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS), a nonprofit research organization, launched a Wildfire Prepared Home program in collaboration with insurance companies and other groups, which certifies homes mitigated against wildfire. Although the program is only currently active in California, it could provide a roadmap for homeowners in other states to both reduce wildfire risk and retain insurance.

Thus, Fire Adapted New Mexico Learning Network has created this synthesis document for further learning about the intersection of wildfire and homeowners insurance, including information about the Wildfire Prepared Home program.