‘We would have lost everything’: California man defends home from deadly Park Fire just 1 month after getting dropped by insurer — follow these steps to protect your home from wildfires

An insurance exodus

Ward’s home insurance woes are commonplace in California, as insurers try to limit their exposure to climate-driven wildfires.

In recent years, several major insurers — including giants like State Farm, Farmers and Allstate — have cut back on the number of new policies they’re willing to write in California. They’ve also become a lot more selective about what risks they’re willing to underwrite and how much coverage they’re willing to provide, often leaving homeowners with a lot of self-insured risk.

Other insurers — like Tokio Marine America Insurance Co. and Trans Pacific Insurance Co. — have exited the state’s troubled home insurance market altogether, citing increased costs related to wildfire risks as a primary reason behind their departures.

With so few insurance options available to them, homeowners in wildfire-prone areas typically only have one option for basic property insurance: the California FAIR Plan.

Demands upon the state’s “insurer of last resort” have sky-rocketed in recent years — reflecting the desperation of homeowners in the Golden State. Since 2019, the number of residential policies in the FAIR Plan has soared by 164% and in the first three-quarters of financial year 2024, the plan has added 134,576 new policyholders.

Without coverage, homeowners face the grim reality that their home — their most prized asset from a monetary and sentimental aspect — could very quickly go up in smoke. Ward witnessed this in Cohasset, where a lot of his neighbors “lost their homes” in the Park Fire. He did not share whether they were insured or not.

As of Aug. 7, the Park Fire had burned almost 425,724 acres in Butte and Tehama Counties and destroyed over 640 structures, including many homes and businesses. It has already drawn comparisons to the 2018 Camp Fire, which resulted in 85 deaths and the total destruction of 11,000 homes. This concentration of total loss is what insurance companies are trying to avoid when they’re reducing coverage or pulling out of the state.

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Protect your home from wildfires

You don’t have to physically fight a fire, like Ward, in order to protect your home from wildfires. There are many preventative measures you can take to reduce your risk — and remember, spending money on mitigation can save you from a total loss in the long-run.

When wildfires burn, homes nearby typically ignite when they come in contact with embers — burning pieces of airborne wood or vegetation that are carried from the blaze by the wind.

To prepare your home to withstand ember attacks, the National Fire Protection Association advises homeowners to clear any roofs and gutters of dead leaves, debris and pine needles that could catch embers. It is also important to replace or repair any loose or missing shingles or roof tiles to prevent embers from getting into your home and to install protective mesh screening over entry points like windows and vents.

Outside of your home, you can use careful landscaping and hardscaping to influence and decrease fire behavior. For example, you can space trees a good distance apart and ensure they’re pruned and clear of vegetation at their base. You can also use driveways, pathways, patios and decks to break the potential path of a fire.

Using a sprinkler system, like Ward, to wet your home and surrounding property can also protect structures against wind-blown embers, radiant heat and direct flame contact.

These strategies cannot guarantee the safety of your home, but they can improve its chances of surviving a wildfire — and your chances of securing home insurance at a time when many insurers are steering clear of properties with wildfire exposure.