Wildfire mitigation work group report

Summary

A slide presentation of the wildfire mitigation and resiliency work group report under SHB 1539 (2025 session), dated January 13, 2026, with contacts from the property and casualty insurance policy staff of OIC. The slides state the work group's charge across five topics and its methodology of eight meetings hearing from more than 20 experts. On mitigation standards, the report recommends reconstituting the work group under the State Fire Marshal's Office and records no full consensus on a single statewide standard. The slides list key recommendations on community wildfire mitigation, data sharing, consumer transparency including disclosure of wildfire risk scores, and a voluntary grant program to retrofit existing homes using IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home standards.

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Wildfire mitigation work group report
                       SHB 1539 (2025 session)


                                     January 13, 2026
Wildfire mitigation & resiliency work group
Develop recommendations to reduce wildfire risk, strengthen
resilience, and support availability of insurance (SHB 1539, 2025 session)

a)   The development and alignment of wildfire property mitigation standards
     with nationally recognized, science-based standards.
b)   Enhancing wildfire mitigation at the community level.
c)   Sharing data between appropriate state agencies and the insurance
     industry regarding successful implementation of wildfire mitigation efforts.
d)   Improving transparency for consumers regarding wildfire hazard and risk.
e)   Establishing a homeowner grant program for purposes such as retrofitting
     and evaluations, with framework recommendations for decreasing
     insurance nonrenewals.

Wildfire mitigation and resiliency standards work group final report


          Wildfire mitigation & resiliency work group report - SHB 1539 (2025 session)   2
Methodology
Over eight meetings, the work group heard from more than 20 experts
and engaged representatives from state agencies, the insurance
industry, fire services, local governments, Tribes, utilities, landowners,
and nonprofit organizations.

Preliminary work included briefings from experts on:
• The benefits of mitigation and an introduction to Insurance Institute for
   Business & Home Safety wildfire mitigation science;
• The Department of Natural Resources’ efforts at the community level;
• Wildfire risk scores as used by the insurance industry;
• Data sharing with state agencies and wildfire risk assessment; and
• Developing a wildfire mitigation grant program for residential
   properties.

Though some areas require continued discussion, the work group
reached alignment on several core strategies.


         Wildfire mitigation & resiliency work group report - SHB 1539 (2025 session)   3
(a) Wildfire property mitigation standards
The report recommends reconstituting this work group under
the leadership of the State Fire Marshal’s Office with support
from DNR and OIC to complete this effort.

The work group was unable to reach full consensus within the
timeframe on whether Washington should adopt a single
statewide mitigation standard or use a suite of standards
tailored to different use cases (e.g. insurance availability,
community engagement, etc.).

The report captures the work group deliberations on
mitigation standards, with more discussion needed.

       Wildfire mitigation & resiliency work group report - SHB 1539 (2025 session)   4
(b) Enhancing community wildfire mitigation
The work group reached strong consensus that community-level
mitigation is essential for reducing wildfire risk, improving public safety,
and stabilizing insurance availability.

Key recommendations include:
1.   Expand DNR’s Community Resilience program implementation to
     support additional statewide and locally coordinated campaigns to drive
     community engagement and enhance the use of nationally recognized,
     science-based wildfire mitigation standards.
2.   Return full funding to the community resilience investments portion of
     the wildfire response, forest restoration, and community resilience account
     (HB 1168, 2021 session).
3.   Increase the funding to support community mitigation efforts from
     the community resilience investments program.
4.   Build on existing efforts and establish a formal policy framework that
     incentivizes and sustains local-level wildfire risk mitigation coordinating
     groups.



          Wildfire mitigation & resiliency work group report - SHB 1539 (2025 session)   5
(c) Data sharing
The work group broadly agreed that improved coordination and
sharing of wildfire hazard, risk, and mitigation data among state
agencies, local entities, and the insurance industry are essential to
better understand wildfire risk and mitigation efforts.

Key recommendations include:
1.   Develop a policy framework directing cross-agency coordination of
     wildfire hazard and risk mitigation data sharing through the Natural
     Hazards Data Portal at WaTech with linkages to other existing systems
     where appropriate.
2.   Explore contracting with an existing entity with expertise in hazard
     and risk analytics to provide state agencies, local governing bodies like
     fire districts, and Washington state residents with accurate and up to date
     wildfire hazard and risk assessments at the parcel level.
3.   Direct relevant agencies to develop a policy framework that would
     establish an information repository where property owners, state
     agencies, local governing bodies like fire districts, and communities can
     provide up-to-date wildfire risk mitigation efforts to increase
     understanding of completed mitigation activities.

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(d) Improving transparency for consumers
Many in the work group acknowledged that current reporting and disclosure
practices by some in the insurance industry do not provide a clear picture of
how wildfire risk affects the residential insurance market and that greater
transparency could help both the state and consumers make more informed
decisions, encourage risk-reduction activities, and promote market stability.

Key recommendations include:
1.   Internal tracking of wildfire-related nonrenewals and cancellations:
     require insurers to internally record instances in which wildfire risk
     materially contributes to a policy nonrenewal, cancellation, or eligibility
     determination.
2.   Targeted disclosure of wildfire risk scores when used: when an insurer
     uses a wildfire risk score, or risk assessment, in determining eligibility or
     pricing, the Legislature should consider requiring that the consumer
     receive the score and an explanation when wildfire risk contributes to a
     nonrenewal, cancellation, or significant premium increase.
3.   Consumer education and mitigation guidance: to ensure that
     transparency efforts lead to actionable understanding and empower
     consumers to reduce risk

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(e) Voluntary grant program
Work group members strongly agreed that measurable, science-based wildfire
mitigation practices supported by public investment would be critical to
reducing wildfire-related insurance nonrenewals and cancellations in
Washington’s residential market.

Establish a voluntary grant program to help retrofit existing homes using
the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety IBHS Wildfire
Prepared Home standards.

Grant objectives:
•  Apply to retrofits of existing structures, not new construction.
•  Reduce the number of nonrenewals and cancellations of residential
   property insurance due to wildfire risk.
•  Prioritize projects in areas with high wildfire risk, limited insurance access,
   and historically underserved populations.
•  Promote measurable wildfire risk reduction across communities statewide.

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Questions?
David Forte
Senior Policy Advisor, Property & Casualty Insurance
David.Forte@oic.wa.gov

Lauren Burnes
Senior Policy Analyst, Property & Casualty Insurance
Lauren.Burnes@oic.wa.gov

Connect with us!
  www.insurance.wa.gov

      Wildfire mitigation & resiliency work group report - SHB 1539 (2025 session)   January 13, 2026   9


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