How Wildfire Score is Determined
Wildfire score is determined by your individual address and go from 0-30. Three Factors make up a wildfire or Brush score.
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1. Fuel within 1/4 mile
Grass, trees, and dense brush feed a wildfire. A 1/4 mile radius is not within most homeowners control. It is important to have good clearance around your home, but it most likely won't change your fuel score since it's more about what is surrounding your property in most cases.
Vegetation or trees growing in thick bundles (especially low to the ground) are more of a threat as a fire source. Piles of dead debris, tree branches, dried grass, etc. can also be considered fuel.
If you have a yard full of manicured vegetation, this is not usually considered in the fuel score.
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2. Slope
Fires move faster on hills, and limit access in case of a wildfire, so the flatter the area the lower the slope score
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3. Access
If your home has multiple ways of access, the access score will be low. If you are at the end of long one lane road, the access score will be higher.
The formula that is used to come up with the Wildfire risk score is Fuel score x Slope + access. A good wildfire score is 3 and below. Wildfire scores above 6 are the hardest to insure.
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Why Did My Insurance Company
Cancel Me?
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Insurance carriers are in the business to make money and stay in business. They are constantly reviewing the amount of risk they have in a geographic area such as zip codes or counties especially those in higher wildfire risk areas. When some carriers realize the unwanted or even non-recoverable financial impact if many homes were lost within a geographic area, they will cancel or non-renew higher wildfire risk homes in that area.
The best carriers are proactive with constant risk review and restricting new business in an area after they reach the point they are comfortable with. That avoids the disruption of the need for non-renewals.
Want to know those carriers that have never non-renewed or cancelled homeowners in California? Just enter your information in the wildfire lookup and we will contact you within the next business day.
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What Options Do I Have If Everyone is Telling Me They Can't Insure My Home?
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A good place to start is the enter your information to request your wildfire score. We will also send you some information about Carriers that are accepting new business in your area.