Latest news with #RoyWright
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Oregon partners with insurance industry to help homeowners with wildfire prevention
Three fires converged in 2020, destroying over 1,500 structures in the Santiam Canyon, which included massive destruction to the city of Detroit, shown here. A partnership between the Oregon State Fire Marshal's Office and the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety could help Oregonians harden homes and create defensible space to spare them from burning up in a wildfire. (Photo courtesy of Oregon State University) Oregon's State Fire Marshal is collaborating with a nonprofit backed by the insurance industry to help Oregonians protect their homes from burning and keep their premiums from rising. State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple signed a memorandum of agreement Friday with Roy Wright, CEO of the South Carolina-based Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, which oversees the 'Wildfire Prepared' certification program. The program offers homeowners in California, and now Oregon, certificates for undertaking specific wildfire prevention work around their homes. In turn, insurers could incorporate certification into their calculus for rates and premiums, helping to curb the rising cost of property insurance, which has grown 30% since 2020, according to the state's Department of Consumer and Business Services. For Gov. Tina Kotek, the memorandum is about making sure Oregonians can keep getting property insurance, period. 'What I think is important for us is that we continue to have insurance for our homeowners here, despite the wildfire risk. That's not true in other states,' she said at a news conference Monday. 'We also want the price to come down, but at a minimum we need to have insurance for our homeowners.' The California Department of Insurance requires insurance companies operating in the state to offer discounts for wildfire mitigation work. The Oregon Legislature hasn't passed similar requirements, but Kotek said that's not necessary yet. 'We still have an insurance market. California is really struggling to maintain insurance coverage. That's not our issue right now,' she said. 'I think by working with the insurance industry and (implementing) best practices for communities, we're going to have a different relationship than they have in California.' Besides offering certificates for wildfire prevention work, the state and the association will partner on research, educational opportunities for Oregonians around home hardening and defensible space and offering post-wildfire analysis. Getting certified The Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, an independent nonprofit backed by major insurers including State Farm and Farmers Insurance, offers two different Wildfire Prepared certificates: one for older homes being retrofitted to withstand fire and one for newer homes being built to withstand fires. The certificates apply only to single-family homes three stories or less, and the person who applies for the certification has to own the home. Townhomes, condos, multiplexes and apartment buildings are not eligible, and the process can't be started by a renter. The main requirement homeowners must meet is clearing a 5-foot buffer around the home and any deck, leaving no combustible material. That means no trees, overhanging branches, mulch, grass, turf, wood or vinyl fencing can be within 5 feet of a home or deck. After work is completed, homeowners submit $125 along with an application that includes photos of their work. Inspectors at the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety review the photos and, if approved, a third party inspector follows up to visit and confirm the work has been done, or document what more should be done. Homeowners who are certified must submit photos annually showing they are maintaining their defensible space buffer and they must get recertified every three years. In a news release, Oregon's Insurance Commissioner Andrew Stolfi said the certification should eventually help Oregonians keep and afford insurance. 'When consumers and the state invest in reducing wildfire risk, insurers — guided by data and science — should reflect that progress in rating and underwriting, helping to keep coverage available and affordable for Oregonians,' he said. Investment or incentives from the Legislature that might help Oregonians with the costs of home hardening, however, has lagged. In 2021, following the catastrophic 2020 Labor Day Fires, the Legislature allocated more than $30 million to help Oregonians with home hardening. By 2023, the Legislature allocated about 10% of that. A 2024 grant program from the State Fire Marshal's Office that provided $250 grants to help Oregonians afford defensible space landscaping is no longer available, according to Kassie Keller, an agency spokesperson. Kotek said helping Oregonians afford to prevent wildfires from burning up their homes is still a priority for her. 'The session's not over yet,' she said. 'I'm going to continue to fight for dedicated dollars, and frankly new dollars, to help have more of these community-based grants to help not only individual homeowners harden and be protected from wildfire, but the whole community.' This article was first published by the Oregon Capital Chronicle, part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oregon Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Julia Shumway for questions: info@
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
State partners with insurance industry to help Oregon homeowners with wildfire prevention
Three fires converged in 2020, destroying over 1,500 structures in the Santiam Canyon, which included massive destruction to the city of Detroit, shown here. A partnership between the Oregon State Fire Marshal's Office and the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety could help Oregonians harden homes and create defensible space to spare them from burning up in a wildfire. (Photo courtesy of Oregon State University) Oregon's State Fire Marshal is collaborating with a nonprofit backed by the insurance industry to help Oregonians protect their homes from burning and keep their premiums from rising. State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple signed a memorandum of agreement Friday with Roy Wright, CEO of the South Carolina-based Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, which oversees the 'Wildfire Prepared' certification program. The program offers homeowners in California, and now Oregon, certificates for undertaking specific wildfire prevention work around their homes. In turn, insurers could incorporate certification into their calculus for rates and premiums, helping to curb the rising cost of property insurance, which has grown 30% since 2020, according to the state's Department of Consumer and Business Services. For Gov. Tina Kotek, the memorandum is about making sure Oregonians can keep getting property insurance, period. 'What I think is important for us is that we continue to have insurance for our homeowners here, despite the wildfire risk. That's not true in other states,' she said at a news conference Monday. 'We also want the price to come down, but at a minimum we need to have insurance for our homeowners.' The California Department of Insurance requires insurance companies operating in the state to offer discounts for wildfire mitigation work. The Oregon Legislature hasn't passed similar requirements, but Kotek said that's not necessary yet. 'We still have an insurance market. California is really struggling to maintain insurance coverage. That's not our issue right now,' she said. 'I think by working with the insurance industry and (implementing) best practices for communities, we're going to have a different relationship than they have in California.' Besides offering certificates for wildfire prevention work, the state and the association will partner on research, educational opportunities for Oregonians around home hardening and defensible space and offering post-wildfire analysis. Getting certified The Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, an independent nonprofit backed by major insurers including State Farm and Farmers Insurance, offers two different Wildfire Prepared certificates: one for older homes being retrofitted to withstand fire and one for newer homes being built to withstand fires. The certificates apply only to single-family homes three stories or less, and the person who applies for the certification has to own the home. Townhomes, condos, multiplexes and apartment buildings are not eligible, and the process can't be started by a renter. The main requirement homeowners must meet is clearing a 5-foot buffer around the home and any deck, leaving no combustible material. That means no trees, overhanging branches, mulch, grass, turf, wood or vinyl fencing can be within 5 feet of a home or deck. After work is completed, homeowners submit $125 along with an application that includes photos of their work. Inspectors at the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety review the photos and, if approved, a third party inspector follows up to visit and confirm the work has been done, or document what more should be done. Homeowners who are certified must submit photos annually showing they are maintaining their defensible space buffer and they must get recertified every three years. In a news release, Oregon's Insurance Commissioner Andrew Stolfi said the certification should eventually help Oregonians keep and afford insurance. 'When consumers and the state invest in reducing wildfire risk, insurers — guided by data and science — should reflect that progress in rating and underwriting, helping to keep coverage available and affordable for Oregonians,' he said. Investment or incentives from the Legislature that might help Oregonians with the costs of home hardening, however, has lagged. In 2021, following the catastrophic 2020 Labor Day Fires, the Legislature allocated more than $30 million to help Oregonians with home hardening. By 2023, the Legislature allocated about 10% of that. A 2024 grant program from the State Fire Marshal's Office that provided $250 grants to help Oregonians afford defensible space landscaping is no longer available, according to Kassie Keller, an agency spokesperson. Kotek said helping Oregonians afford to prevent wildfires from burning up their homes is still a priority for her. 'The session's not over yet,' she said. 'I'm going to continue to fight for dedicated dollars, and frankly new dollars, to help have more of these community-based grants to help not only individual homeowners harden and be protected from wildfire, but the whole community.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
California developer builds first 'wildfire-resilient' neighborhood
The Brief A new "wildfire-resilient" is being built in California. The 64-home development is called "Dixon Trail." It's being built by California developer KB Home. ESCONDIDO, Calif. - A California residential developer is building what's being called the country's first "wildfire-resilient" neighborhood. What we know KB Home said its new community in Escondido, in San Diego County, is being constructed with fire-resistant building materials and methods to protect against direct flame contact and radiant heat and embers. The features help to "meaningfully reduce the likelihood of wildfire spread," KB Home said. The developer said the new Dixon Trail community meets wildfire resilience standards developed by the non-profit Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS). The independent research group seeks to find ways to protect homes and communities against natural disasters. KB Home said Dixon Trail was constructed with research-backed methods and materials, including Class A fire-rated roofs, noncombustible gutters, and ember and flame-resistant vents. The home builder noted the approach goes beyond how individual homes are constructed. "Research shows that both homesite- and neighborhood-level strategies are key in preventing wildfires from becoming catastrophic," the home-building company said. The materials used throughout the neighborhood and the spacing of the structures are carefully taken into account. "Wildfire risk is reduced by separating almost all structures by more than 10 feet and decreasing potential fuels through the use of fire-resistant materials like all-metal fence systems," KB Home said. Dig deeper The community is being built amid a home insurance crisis in California, as insurers have spiked rates or dropped or reduced coverage, due to heightened wildfire risks and high costs of doing business in the state. SEE ALSO:State Farm's request for 22% rate hike in California approved "With fire becoming an increasingly common threat in the West, it's crucial to reconsider how we construct communities in fire-prone regions," said IBHS's CEO Roy Wright. "KB Home is at the forefront, implementing our research-driven wildfire mitigation strategies for both the parcel and neighborhood levels at Dixon Trail." At completion, the community will include a total of 64 new homes. Prices start at $1,029,990, KB's Dixon Trail website said. The community opened in October, and about 50% of the homes have been sold, according to a KB Home sales agent. The available homes range from being ready to move in to being personalized and built to order. The home designs come with options offering three to five bedrooms and 2.5 to 3.5 baths. What we don't know It's unclear if KB Home has immediate plans to roll out more wildfire-resilient communities. The Los Angeles-based company has a notable presence in the Bay Area. On its website, KB said its homes are in "commuter-friendly locations," offering easy accessibility to major employment hubs in San Francisco and across the region from the East Bay, Sonoma Valley, Contra Costa, the Tri-Valley, and Silicon Valley. This story was reported from Oakland, Calif.
Associated Press
08-04-2025
- General
- Associated Press
IBHS releases Resilient Rebuilding: A Path Forward for Los Angeles, a blueprint for survivable and insurable homes and communities
LOS ANGELES and RICHBURG, S.C., April 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety ( IBHS) today released Resilient Rebuilding: A Path Forward for Los Angeles, a blueprint for rebuilding a more survivable and insurable Los Angeles after the devastating Eaton and Palisades Fires. IBHS calls on local leaders to take regulatory action to ensure critical structural and defensible space requirements and specific mitigation actions needed to make the next generation of Los Angeles homes and communities more wildfire resilient are taken during this historic rebuilding. 'We are at a critical point for rebuilding in Los Angeles – one where the survivability and insurability of the next generation of LA's homes and communities is decided,' says Roy Wright, CEO of IBHS and a member of the LA County Blue Ribbon Commission on Climate Action & Fire Safe Recovery. 'Research-based fire mitigation actions can meaningfully reduce the risk of wildfire now and in the future.' Offering a play-by-play sequence of actions, IBHS addresses the exact wildfire mitigation actions and critical retrofits to strengthen survivability and insurability for homes and communities. The paper provides specific regulatory actions to make these recommendations a reality. IBHS calls on Los Angeles County and the City of Los Angeles to: Extend Chapter 7A requirements and develop a Zone 0 standard for the entire Eaton Fire footprint. (Zone 0 is the zero-to-five-foot area immediately surrounding a structure that must be free of vegetation and any combustible items.) Develop and apply a Zone 0 standard to the Palisades Fire footprint. Enhance Chapter 7A requirements with additional mitigation actions as required by the IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home Plus standard. Enact local defensible space requirements addressing Zone 0 across all at-risk communities within Los Angeles. Use setbacks to maximize the spacing between structures to the greatest extent possible. Use local planning and financial resources to establish and maintain fuel breaks along the periphery of communities in highest hazard zones. Develop plans to retrofit all surviving homes with baseline wildfire protections, through requirements, incentives and financial support. Resilient Rebuilding: A Path Forward for Los Angeles and additional IBHS wildfire research, including recent reports on the LA County fires, are available at About the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) The IBHS mission is to conduct objective, scientific research to identify and promote effective actions that strengthen homes, businesses and communities against natural disasters and other causes of loss. Learn more at
