Analyzing 2019 wildfire damage and property exposure

May 27, 2020 / 1 min read

Wildfire risk assessment for property insurance can follow the peril wherever it goes, using widely applicable principles in a complex interplay of large-scale data and analytics with scientific methods. Combining these tools, it’s possible to comprehensively assess wildfire risk.

A new Verisk white paper, Wildfire Risk Insight: An analysis of property exposure and wildfire damage in 2019, examines wildfire from multiple angles, including:

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The global threat: U.S. wildfire events often get worldwide visibility, but the threat itself is truly global, reaching any location with the right mix of risk factors.

Ingredients for wildfire: Location aside, wildfire risk includes the shared elements of wildland vegetation, terrain, road access, and potential for wind-borne embers, all of which can influence the intensity, speed of spread, and ability to contain these fires.

Assessing wildfire risk: Large-scale and wide-ranging data must be joined not only with advanced data analysis but also community-level relationships and knowledge of local hazards to effectively measure the risk.

Assessing the impact of 2019 wildfires: Although wildfire activity fluctuates year to year, the United States has recently experienced record-breaking seasons. Follow along as we analyze the 2019 fires.

Wildfire risk management: Fully understanding wildfire peril and primary risk factors is vital to accurate property underwriting and portfolio management, encompassing property locations, geographic risk concentrations, premium levels, and peripheral wildfire exposures.

Mitigation: Verisk is committed to supporting resiliency in the face of the wildfire threat, working with various organizations to help insurers better understand community-based protective measures toward wildfire mitigation.

The full paper contains detailed reviews of these topics and more. And stay tuned for an upcoming webinar with the latest insights on wildfire risk.