Willis, part of WTW, in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, has launched a insurance policy that incorporates wildfire risk mitigation efforts.
The $2.5m wildfire resilience cover, structured by Willis, is tailored for Californian private homeowners’ body the Tahoe Donner Association.
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It was developed in collaboration with the Center for Law, Energy and the Environment at the University of California, Berkeley, to offer lower premiums as a direct result of risk mitigation practices.
Tahoe Donner has been managing forested land covering an area of 1,520 acres since 2015.
The insurance covers 1,345 acres of this land, with a 39% reduction in premiums and an 89% decrease in deductibles.
Globe Underwriting (formerly Forest Re) provided analysis to support premium and deductible reduction.
Willis alternative risk transfer solutions associate director David Williams said: “The forest management work completed by Tahoe Donner, by removing fuel that could burn and leading to a lower fire risk, has considerably reduced the premium and deductible in this insurance policy.
“At a pivotal moment for California’s insurance market, Willis has worked across the industry to bring this solution to Tahoe Donner, placing the insurance with Globe Underwriting, in a positive step towards a more resilient and sustainable insurance industry.”
The Nature Conservancy California lead forest scientist Kristen Wilson said: “By placing this innovative insurance product, we hope to inspire other insurance underwriters to account for the benefit of thinning and prescribed fire and increase the implementation of this type of work more broadly.”
Last month, WTW deepened its collaboration with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and partnered with NASA’s Disasters Program and the NASA Langley Research Centre. This initiative seeks to enhance the understanding of hailstorm risks in Europe.
