A new generation of California wildfire insurance

Due to the increasing wildfire insurance coverage gap left by traditional carriers, clients with valuable assets are at extremely high risk.

Climate change is projected to make wildfires more intense and frequent, with a global increase in extreme fires of up to 14% by 2030. The United States experiences many wildfires, where 2022 saw 66,255 wildfires across the region, the highest number in 10 years. A particularly wildfire-prone region in the United States is California. 

California contains the highest number of properties at risk to wildfire due to its extensive size and Mediterranean climate. In 2022 there were five severe wildfire events in California, 3 of which surpassed over $151 million USD in economic loss.

As California’s soil and mountain ranges create ideal conditions for vineyards to thrive due to its warm and dry climate, the state’s many wine regions, including Napa Valley, are often frequented by wine enthusiasts. Hospitality clients, such as resort owners located in these wine-producing regions, are highly exposed to losing both valuable assets and revenues in the country’s most wildfire-prone state. As traditional carriers have significantly reduced wildfire sub-limits and increased retentions due to evolving California wildfire risk, exposed clients are left financially insecure due to limited and expensive coverage.    

Descartes’ parametric wildfire insurance cover, offers fresh capacity to exposed clients needing full financial protection and capacity in the United States and globally. Descartes’ bespoke and customizable covers provide security and consistency in an unstable traditional market.

Check out our case study to see how our parametric cover can provide fresh capacity for exposed hospitality clients in the wildfire-prone region of California.