While only about one in every 385 insured homes has a claim related to fire or lightning, those claims tend to be the most costly of all, with each averaging just over $77,000, according to statistics from the Insurance Information Institute. While homeowners policies generally include coverage for fire-related losses, an issue arises when you examine whether most policies have enough coverage to replace a home in the event of a total loss. This is especially imperative in a time when things like inflation and supply chain issues have driven up rebuilding costs in terms of both materials and labor. There will also likely continue to be fluctuations in the price of things like house paint, metals, glass and other materials used in fixtures around the home. Some insured may hesitate to increase their homeowners coverage to a policy with complete rebuilding coverage – as it is almost guaranteed to increase their premium – so it is up to the agent to justify any coverage suggestions in a way that reassures the homeowner they aren't just being oversold. A recent example of rampant underinsurance in fire disasters is the Marshall Fire, which destroyed 1,084 residential structures and damaged another 149 in Boulder County, Colorado, as it burned between December 30, 2021 and January 1, 2022. In April 2022, the Colorado Division of Insurance released their initial estimates of underinsurance for homes affected by the Marshall Fire. Of the 951 total loss claims they analyzed for the estimate, only 76 homes (8%) had a homeowners policy that provided guaranteed replacement coverage. In the slideshow above, we look at the top fire insurers based on 2021 data from S&P Global Market Intelligence and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).

Related:

• Business owners: Consider these steps to ward off wildfire damage
• Reassessing customers' risk profiles during wildfire season
• Lightning caused $1.3B in U.S. homeowners claims