Reassessing customers' risk profiles during wildfire season

As we go into yet another unpredictable wildfire season, two things will be certain: risk is imminent, and the more we can enrich existing data, the more equipped insurers will be to protect their customer and themselves. (Photo: gajendra/Adobe Stock)

Wildfire season officially began in May and in 2022, we’ve already seen fires in 13 states across the U.S. Many of us, myself included, remain haunted by the images of last year’s Dixie Fire in California. The massive fire engulfed five counties in California, making it the largest recorded fire in the state’s history. So large, in fact, it took over three months for the fire to be fully contained.

It often seems like the largest fires we hear about are in California, but wildfires can happen anywhere. As I write this piece, Florida is battling two separate wildfires in the Panhandle. Florida is among many states with threats of looming wildfires, from Texas to North Carolina, Montana to Alabama and Oregon to Georgia, to name a few. These days, it seems like there is some risk of wildfire wherever you live. As a New Hampshire resident and an avid hiker, I know how quickly fires can pop up and spread.