As California fire season now lasts all year, Delos commits to support homeowners

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Sep 12, 2024, 10:50 ET

With the continuing expansion of wildfire risk, Delos leverages its proprietary technologies to insure California homes in wildfire-stressed areas

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- As 20 times more land in California has succumbed to wildfire this year than last year, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) is now talking in terms of 'Fire Years' rather than 'Fire Seasons'. This exacerbates the already challenging availability of wildfire insurance as many carriers have pulled back from large segments of the California market, creating the well-publicized crisis of insurance availability and affordability for millions of families living in wildfire-stressed areas.

Since the beginning of 2024, more than 3,500 wildfires have swept across the state. They have consumed approximately 207,000 acres, compared to 10,000 acres for the same time period (January-July) last year - and out-pacing the five-year average of 39,000 acres burned through mid-July.

Traditional insurance carriers have decided that homes in areas potentially exposed to wildfire are uninsurable or not insurable at affordable rates. Despite the welcome interventions from the Insurance Commissioner, many homeowners are still seeing their policies non-renewed, or are experiencing sharp premium increases.

Delos research indicates that it doesn't have to be that way. Its patented technology empowers the company to pinpoint properties in stressed areas that do not pose a high risk of loss. Their proprietary wildfire model has demonstrated extraordinary accuracy over the past six fire seasons, enabling Delos to offer insurance to tens of thousands of homeowners in distressed California markets.

"California homeowners need to be able to find reasonably priced insurance. Year after year we see a growing need for California homeowners, including those with vacant properties, to access reliable insurance protection at a more affordable price," said Kevin Stein, CEO Delos Insurance Solutions. "Climate events are increasing in intensity, and striking in new areas. It is not a case of people moving into wildfire-exposed areas, but of wildfire-exposed areas expanding near them."

"As an MGA, focused on the needs of homeowners in wildfire-stressed zones, we are fully committed - along with our insurance carrier partners - to insuring homes in California regions that have few options due to even the slightest perception of exposure to wildfire, Stein added. Our goal is to offer peace of mind to even more California homeowners,

"Using satellite imagery and proprietary modeling, Delos is able to underwrite homes in areas that have been largely abandoned by much of the rest of the insurance industry," said David Shew, who has more than 30 years of fire suppression experience, is a retired CalFire Chief, and an advisor to Delos. "As conditions get worse, we need to find different solutions to the insurance crisis," said Shew. "The increasing complexity and variability of this risk requires the enhanced technology, data, and analytics that Delos has pioneered."

Not every home in wildfire-stressed areas is insurable, but many homes are less vulnerable and should be eligible for less costly coverage. Understanding wildfire risk - how wildfires today are different than just a few years ago - and successfully integrating diverse data points into the insurance process - are key elements to solving this crisis.

About Delos Insurance Solutions

Delos Insurance Solutions uses cutting-edge technology to offer insurance protection to homeowners in communities abandoned by other insurers because of wildfire risk. Founded in San Francisco in 2017 by aerospace engineers, Delos uses satellite imagery and artificial intelligence to identify insurable homes within territories deemed too risky by the rest of the insurance market. Delos is a Managing General Agent (MGA) offering policies on behalf of multiple carriers, all of which are rated "A" (Excellent) by AM Best.

SOURCE Delos Insurance Solutions