Quantifying Insurance Benefits of a Nature-based Approach to Reducing Risk: Wildfire Risk Reduction Buffers
This report examines how wildfire risk reduction buffers can reduce property losses, improve insurance affordability, and strengthen resilience in fire prone communities. Using Paradise, California as a case study, the analysis shows how strategically placed buffers and modern building codes can significantly reduce wildfire risk, support recovery, and improve insurance availability.
Subject Tags
- Climate adaptation
- Nature-based solutions
- Fire management
Overview
This report explores how nature based wildfire risk reduction buffers can help communities reduce wildfire losses while improving access to affordable insurance. Using Paradise, California, as a case study following the devastating 2018 Camp Fire, researchers evaluated how strategically placed wildfire buffers, combined with modern fire resilient building codes, can reduce ignition risk, property losses, and insurance costs. The analysis integrates wildfire probability modeling, urban ignition risk assessment, and insurance catastrophe modeling to quantify the benefits of community scale risk reduction strategies. Results show that the most effective buffer scenario could reduce average annual wildfire losses by 27 percent, while combining buffers with updated building codes could reduce losses by as much as 42 percent. The report also demonstrates how these measures may improve insurance availability, support Community Based Catastrophe Insurance programs, encourage safer land use planning, and increase community resilience. The findings provide a framework for communities, insurers, and policymakers seeking nature based solutions to address growing wildfire threats in the wildland urban interface.
Citation
Chirouze, M., Clark, J., Hayes, J., Roberts, K., Jones, D., Chamberlin, S., ... & Newkirk, S. (2021). Quantifying Insurance Benefits of a Nature-Based Approach to Reducing Risk: Wildfire Risk Reduction Buffers. Nat. Conserv, 1-30.
TNC Authors
-
Sydney Chamberlin
Project Manager, CA
The Nature Conservancy
Email: s.j.chamberlin@tnc.org -
Sarah Heard
The Nature Conservancy -
Kristen Shive
The Nature Conservancy