Wildfire Risk Reduction and Asset Protection Initiative

By launching and advancing a “Wildfire Risk Reduction and Asset Protection” (WRAP) initiative in 2017, UP is helping property owners across California keep their assets insured during a home insurance availability and affordability crisis that is affecting many parts of the state. This crisis is hitting people hard in the pocketbook.  Insurers have dropped (“non-renewed”) thousands of customers in areas they deem vulnerable to wildfires, and when those customers find a replacement home insurance policy, it provides less protection and costs as much as four times what they had been paying.  Not only is this hurting homeowners…it’s reducing property values, hurting real estate sales and causing a ripple effect of economic harm. United Policyholders is working hard with powerful partners to help solve the crisis.  We are helping people shop in a very challenging marketplace.  We are working to solve the crisis through our WRAP initiative.

• Help homeowners keep their assets insured despite the affordability and availability crisis
• Identify the most commonly accepted home improvements that experts and communities are promoting to facilitate home hardening and fuel reduction steps (see below)
• Advocate with the CA Dept. of Insurance and in the CA legislature to establish an official fire risk reduced home standard, financial assistance, inspection and certification program.
• Advocate that CDI and other state insurance regulators continue to limit the use of predictive models in home insurance rates.
• Continue our work at the federal level advancing mitigation and insurance support/reward programs across the country
• Collect data through our ongoing California Home Insurance Survey 

Roof

· The dwelling has a well-maintained Class A roof. Where gutters are present, the roof includes a metal drip edge.

· For homes with metal or tile roofs, gaps greater than 1/8 inch between roofing and sheathing have been blocked to prevent debris accumulation and ember entry.

Vents

· Exterior vents (e.g., foundation, gable, under eave, and roof vents) incorporate a 1/8 inch metal mesh or are designed for flame and ember resistance (Wildland Flame and Ember Resistant (WUI) vents approved and listed by the California State Fire Marshall or WUI vents listed to ASTM E2886).

Fences

· Any wooden fences that attach to the dwelling structure shall incorporate only noncombustible materials (fencing or gating) in the last 5 feet before the attachment point(s) to the structure.

Decks

· All combustible materials (e.g., grass, shrubs, or stored materials) must be removed from underneath attached wooden decks or stairways and maintained at least 5 feet away from the decks’ or stairways’ perimeters.

Other Attached Structures (arbors, pergolas, trellis)

· Any other structure that is attached to the dwelling structure must be made of noncombustible materials.

Buildings less than 25 feet from the Dwelling Structure or Attached Decking

· If another structure (e.g., a dwelling, garage, barn, shed or commercial building) is within 25 feet of the dwelling, the dwelling’s exterior wall that faces the nearby structure meets a one-hour fire rating and includes noncombustible cladding.

· Where windows face the nearby structure, the windows either include dual-paned glass with at least the exterior pane is tempered glass or the windows have deployable metal shutters.

Defensible Space and Landscape

· There is at least 6 inches of noncombustible clearance between the ground and the exterior siding of the dwelling.

· Within the first 5 feet of any dwelling or attached decks, no combustible materials (e.g., woody plants, combustible mulch, stored items) are present around the building or deck(s)or below the deck(s).

· For the landscape from 5-30 feet from structure (or property line if closer), the connectivity of vegetation leading to the dwelling structure has been eliminated. The lower branches of trees have been limbed up at least 6 feet above underlying or adjacent shrubs to eliminate fuel ladder connectivity. The landscaping is irrigated and maintained. Vegetation may be grouped and surrounded by areas of irrigated and mowed grass or hardscaping.

· For the landscape from 30-100 feet from the structure (or property line if closer), there is separation between shrubs and trees, dead branches and leaves have been removed, lower branches of trees are pruned to curtail the spread of fire and to eliminate fuel ladders.

· For dwellings on or adjacent to steep slopes (e.g., slopes greater than 35 degrees), landscape mitigation has been extended downslope and beyond the 100 feet perimeter, where possible, to reduce direct flame contact with or preheating of the dwelling or the underside of any decking.

View as a PDF: WRAP Working Group Mitigated Dwelling Measures (October 2021)

• Wildfire Partners
• Fire Safe Council of Nevada County
• Ventura Regional Fire Safe Council

• IBHS Wildfire Codes and Standards: A State-by-State Reference Guide (Nov 2019)
• IBHS Suburban Wildfire Adaptation Roadmaps (Aug 2020)
• Mount Veeder FSC Community Fire Protection Plan (2016)
• Oakland Fire Safe Council Defensible Space Study (2019)
• Oakland CP&R Home Hardening for Wildfire

• USAA/Firewise Discount

Guest Blog: Fire resistant structures from the ground up, a technology making inroads in disaster affected areas

• UP Testimony/Comments Before the California Department of Insurance re: Mitigation in Rating Plans and Wildfire Risk Models, REG-2020-00015, November 10, 2021
  • Draft Text of Regulations: Mitigation in Rating Plans and Wildfire Risk Models –  REG – 2020-00015
  • Public Discussion Notice on Mitigation in Rating Plans and Wildfire Risk Models (Nov 2021)
• HR 5494 – Catastrophe Loss Mitigation Incentive and Tax Parity Act of 2019
• AB 2367 (CA 2020) – Letter of Support 
• AB 2167 (CA 2020)  UP Assembly Letter of Opposition, UP Senate Letter of Opposition
  • Template AB 2167 Letter of Opposition
  • Consumer Federation of California AB 2167 Letter of Opposition
  • Consumer Federation of America Actuarial Opinion Concerning AB 2167
  • Consumer Watchdog Letter to Senator Atkins Re: AB 2167
  • Article: Watchdog group opposes bill that would hike insurance rates in fire-prone areas
  • Senate Bill Analysis 
  • Assembly Bill Analysis
  • UP Updated Letter of Opposition to the Senate Committee on Appropriations
  • LA Times – Editorial: An insurance fix for fire-prone areas that only an insurance company could love
  • Sacramento Bee – California state legislators use coronavirus as an excuse to hijack democratic process
• SB 292 (CA 2020) – Letter of Opposition
  • UP Updated Letter of Opposition to the Assembly Appropriations Committee
• Wildfire Safety and Recovery Act – SB 824
• Joint Legislative Committee Emergency Management and Senate Committee on Insurance Informational Hearing, March 20, 2018
• Governor’s Tree Mortality Task Force (2016-2017)
  • Insurance Availability and Affordability – Consumer’s Perspectives (Feb 2017)
  • Tree Mortality Task Force – Insurance Workshop Agenda (Feb 2017)

• When private options shrink for insuring property … Residual market entities and consumer challenges 12.2021
• NAIC Presentation: State approaches to facilitating mitigation: Standards, mandates, incentives and help (Aug 2017)