U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich & Tim Sheehy Introduce Legislation To Study Cost Of Wildfires On Homeowners

U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) introduced the Wildfire Insurance Coverage Study Act, legislation to better understand the cost of increasingly destructive wildfires on homeowners’ insurance coverage and identify possible measures to alleviate the financial risk of wildfires.

“I’m hearing from more and more New Mexicans who’ve seen their insurance premiums skyrocket, lost coverage entirely, or been priced out of protecting their homes. That is completely unacceptable,” Sen. Heinrich said. “Families deserve fair, transparent coverage they can count on. We need a clearer picture of how worsening wildfires and climate risks are impacting insurance companies’ decisions to raise insurance premiums. Without better data, we can’t push back when insurers jack up rates or pull the rug out from under homeowners altogether.”

“In addition to destroying livelihoods, wildfires that burn down communities threaten homeowners’ access to insurance coverage, lead to more costly premiums, and make the American Dream of homeownership less attainable,” Sen. Sheehy said. “One-third of America lives in wildfire-prone areas, and we must get our arms around this crisis, because if you can’t get or afford homeowners’ insurance, you can’t finance your home, which means hardworking families can’t achieve homeownership. As we overhaul the federal wildfire apparatus to reduce catastrophic wildfire risk, which will help ease pressure on insurance markets, I’m also proud to lead the charge on this bill to ensure American families’ homes, financial futures, and communities are protected from wildfires.” 

According to a 2023 report released by Heinrich as the former Chairman of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC), the financial risks of wildfires are difficult to predict because fires can start for a number of reasons and because their risk to peoples’ homes at any given time is based on a complicated combination of topography, drought conditions, wind patterns, fuel amounts, and the location of houses among many other factors. This has led many insurers to either raise premium costs substantially across the board in Western and forested communities orpull out of markets entirely — with several major insurance companies declining to provide any form of coverage.

The Wildfire Insurance Coverage Study Act will help gain a clearer understanding of the cost associated with living in areas with increasingly intense and longer fire seasons, regardless of the fire damages that occur over a year.

Specifically, Wildfire Insurance Coverage Study Act will require a federal study to assess:

• Extent and nature of growing wildfire risks in the United States;
• The existing state of homeowners insurance coverage and commercial property insurance coverage for damage from wildfires in the United States;
• Extent to which private insurers have refused to renew new policies because of geographical location;
• Responses of states’ insurance regulatory agencies to increased premiums and exclusion of coverage; and
• Need for a national wildfire risk map.

The Wildfire Insurance Coverage Study Act is endorsed by Public Citizen and the National Association of Counties (NACo). 

Full text of the bill is here.