Wildfires have quickly emerged as a high-priority exposure for insurers to grasp and manage in states at greatest risk. (metamorworks/Adobe Stock)
Increasing heat, drought and shifting precipitation trends have combined to make wildfire "seasons" close to a year-round phenomenon.
And as spring comes earlier year by year, accelerated snowmelt allows vegetation to dry out sooner before the onset of summer temperatures. Meanwhile, human settlement pushes deeper into high-risk territory — wildland-urban interface (WUI) and intermix WUI areas — and raises potential loss exposure. Consider that Riverside County, Calif., has seen a a five-year jump of 242% in new construction, making it one of that state's top counties by the number of housing units deemed at high to extreme wildfire risk, according to Verisk analysis.
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