While wildfires raged this year in California, Colorado andArizona, high-net-worth insurers were there too, providing firedeterrent services to the mansions and sprawling estates of theirprivate-client insureds.

This vital service—preventing, if possible, fire from reachingan insured's multimillion dollar home—is a deterrent to payinglarge losses should one of these properties be consumed by flames.And now almost every HNW carrier in the segment has its own fireprotection unit or contracts such services with a third-partysupplier.

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The AIG Private Client Group launched its Wildfire ProtectionUnit in 2005 when it was faced with not being able to insure homesin wildfire areas because of the financial expense, says JerryHourihan, group senior vice president.

“The Private Client Group has grown and expanded to almost allof the western states. Wildfire as a peril has gotten to be abigger and bigger issue for our clients,” says Hourihan.

He stresses that AIG's unit is a personal wildfire protectionprogram—not an official fire department—that takes pre-emptivemeasures to prevent fire damage by helping insureds clear awaybrush or by spraying down client homes with fire-retardant gel.It's a complimentary service for Private Client Group policyholdersin select areas within the western U.S. The company had several HNWclients affected by the June wildfires in Colorado.

It's also good for customer attraction and retention;insureds—and their friends and neighbors—are often surprised by thehands-on treatment, Hourihan says. “When the word goes out, we'vegot clients for life,” he adds. “We're also introduced to newones.”

Chubb's Wildfire Defense Service launched in 2008 and now serves14 Western U.S. states, “wherever wildfire risk is most prevalent,”says Jim Fiske (pictured), U.S. marketing manager for ChubbPersonal Insurance.

Clients who enroll in the service allow Chubb permission to goon their property if a wildfire is approaching and makerecommendations or take any necessary protective measures toprevent the home from catching fire. This may involve removal ofbrush and vegetation around the home and debris from gutters, Fiskesays.

As a last resort, Chubb will spray the client's house with afire-repellant gel concentrate, which when added to water, absorbsheat and clings to surfaces, preventing burning, heating orcharring. In February, Chubb added evacuation assistance to helpcustomers find shelter for their families and pets when their homeis threatened by a wildfire.

ACE's Risk Consulting Division contracts with Capstone FireManagement Inc. for clients in select areas of Colorado andCalifornia, says Gary Raphael, the division's senior vicepresident, who has helped develop various wildfire mitigationprograms.

When a client first signs up for the program, an ACE riskconsultant reviews the insured's property and develops a plan toreduce the threat of fire, which also serves as a record of theinsured's property, according to the ACE website.

During a wildfire, ACE and Capstone monitor the situation andadvise the client if action needs to be taken to secure theirproperty, which could include moving combustible materials awayfrom any structures.

“If fire does come up to the property they can apply a gel ifnecessary,” Raphael says.

PURE (Privilege Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange) offers aWildfire Mitigation Program through a partnership with FirebreakSpray Systems LLC of Hood River, Ore. The fire-management companysprays clients' homes with a fertilizer-based product calledPhos-Chek Long-Term Fire Retardant: It's the same red-dyedsubstance that the U.S. Forest Service has been dropping by air onburning forests for many years.

Fireman's Fund focuses on a more holistic approach to fireprevention, including tips to prepare the home; risk servicesconsultants; and vendors who offer wildfire preparation services,according to a company spokesperson. The company also provides tipson Wildfire Readiness from the National Fire ProtectionAssociation.

The company does note on its website that more HNW clients areliving in remote wild areas that are prone to wildfire, which itcalls the Wildland Urban Interface: “semi-rural areas … attractiveto higher income earners who wish to escape the congested citiesand suburbs and live in a more natural environment.”

And more HNW insurers are focusing on them: “Insurance companyfire units are an increasingly popular 'offering' from companiesthat certainly provide good publicity, but are not alwayseffective,” the company states. “In fact, they can create a falsesense of security for homeowners and result in disastrousconsequences.”

Instead, Fireman's Fund recommends that homeowners have anevacuation plan ready; make sure their home and property are incompliance with current fire codes; use fire-resistantconstruction; and ensure that all structures on the property aresurrounded by “defensible space,” i.e., free of brush and debristhat could catch fire.

The latter is part of the municipal code in many jurisdictions,the company notes.

Fireman's Fund also advises its insureds to seal roofingmaterials and block attic vents and eves to prevent entry by smallburning embers that can travel on the wind miles from a wildfiresite, and burn down a structure from within.