IBHS Expands Wildfire Prepared Program to 14 States — Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety

Event summary

The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) expanded its Wildfire Prepared program to 10 additional states, bringing the total to 14.
The program offers two levels of wildfire mitigation designations: Wildfire Prepared Home and Wildfire Prepared Home Plus.
Wildfire Prepared Neighborhood recognizes builders and communities working together to reduce home-to-home wildfire spread.
The expansion follows growing demand for science-based wildfire mitigation actions in high-risk areas.

The big picture

IBHS's expansion of the Wildfire Prepared program reflects the increasing focus on proactive wildfire mitigation as climate change intensifies wildfire risks. The program's science-based approach aims to reduce property damage and improve long-term insurability, aligning with broader industry efforts to manage natural disaster exposures. The inclusion of neighborhood-level designations underscores the importance of coordinated community-wide resilience strategies.

What we're watching

Adoption Pace: How quickly homeowners and builders in the newly added states will adopt the Wildfire Prepared designations.
Insurance Impact: Whether the program's expansion will influence insurers' underwriting criteria or premiums in high-risk wildfire areas.
Regulatory Influence: The extent to which state and local governments may incorporate Wildfire Prepared standards into building codes or zoning regulations.