The Fix Our Forests Act and the Promoting Resilient Buildings Act were passed by the House but stalled out in the Senate. (Credit: Courtesy photo)
The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) has asked Congress to reintroduce and pass legislation aimed at preventing wildfires and hardening the built environment.
In response to the L.A. wildfires, NAMIC called on lawmakers to quickly take up the Fix Our Forests Act and the Promoting Resilient Buildings Act, both of which previously passed the House but stalled out in the Senate.
“The catastrophic wildfires continue to wreak havoc on California residents and communities, and insurers stand ready to help on the long road to recovery,” said Jimi Grande, NAMIC’s senior vice president of federal and political affairs, in a statement. “The process will be long and difficult for victims, but it should motivate Congress to reduce the threat of massive wildfires like these. We can’t control the winds, but we can reduce the fuel for wildfires and strengthen our defenses to keep them from spreading.”
The Fix Our Forests Act aims to reduce wildfire risk through better forest management. It includes provisions to prioritize treatments for forests with the highest risk of wildfire and to improve and coordinate grant programs to mitigate wildfire risk in communities. The act would also promote scientific research on wildfire resilience and land management, and it would support the adoption of fire-resistant building methods and standards.
The Promoting Resilient Buildings Act would help harden structures by allowing communities to adopt stronger building codes and establishing a retrofit pilot program within FEMA to improve existing residential structures.
“Congress should provide recovery aid for the victims of the California wildfires, as it did in December for those impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, but it can also act now to help prevent more Americans from becoming victims of the next disaster,” Grande said. “The Fix Our Forests and Promoting Resilient Buildings Acts offer bipartisan and commonsense solutions that will reduce risk and better protect our communities.”
Estimates of losses from the L.A. wildfires continue to grow. CoreLogic released a new analysis yesterday that puts current insured losses somewhere between $35 billion and $45 billion. As both the Eaton and Palisades fires were only 50% contained on Thursday afternoon, those estimates could still increase in the coming days.
Earlier this week, Moody’s RMS issued a statement that said it would provide loss estimates eventually but that “it is already clear that this will prove the costliest wildfire in U.S. history.”
“The destruction caused by these fires is anticipated to be the most expensive in the state’s history, with effects on the insurance industry that will persist into the future,” said Tom Larsen, senior director of CoreLogic Insurance Solutions, in a statement. “This event highlights the paramount challenge for homeowners and the insurers that support them — the increasing density of homes and properties near the wildlife urban interface. Los Angeles is a resilient community, and as they look to rebuild, it will be essential to design or redesign with mitigation practices in mind, so an event of this magnitude never happens again.”
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