By Lewis Nibbelin, Research Writer, Triple-I
As recovery from the devastating 2025 wildfires in Los Angeles County continues, insurers are shifting focus from the more than $22 billion they’ve paid in claims to focus on preventing losses down the line. But long-term resilience will require more than industry involvement, Triple-I CEO Sean Kevelighan said in a recent episode of AM Best TV.
Describing collaboration throughout “the entire economic ecosystem” as essential, Kevelighan explained, “There needs to be some conscious understanding and action by individuals and communities broadly on finding ways to make these communities more resilient.”
Kevelighan highlighted the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety’s (IBHS) Wildfire Prepared Home program as a driving force for these efforts. Meeting the program’s standards for wildfire resistance can earn residents premium discounts and help improve availability of coverage in wildfire-prone areas, aligning individual risk mitigation with insurance affordability.
“Whether it’s the developing and contracting community, the realty community, the financing community, utilities, government – all of these have an important role to play in resilience,” Kevelighan said. “If they work together to figure out programs and plans that can help communities become more resilient, that’s going to make a difference.”
Other subject-matter experts featured in the episode discussed how advances in risk modeling can further protect homeowners at the property level by helping insurers make more informed decisions about individual policyholder risk. Watch the entire discussion here.
Learn More:
Historic Wildfire Season Highlights Nationwide Vulnerability
Resilient Post-Wildfire Rebuilding Pays Off
Study Supports Defensible Space, Home Hardening as Wildfire Resilience Tools
Data Granularity Key to Finding Less Risky Parcels in Wildfire Areas
