Washington Senate bills would implement public wildfire risk scores and obstruct nonrenewals

SB 6079 (reducing nonrenewals and cancellations due to wildfire risk) would create a pilot grant programme to help homeowners retrofit existing structures to standards of the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) Wildfire Prepared Home, prioritizing projects in high-risk areas with limited insurance access and historically underserved populations, and balancing scientific rigor, cost-effectiveness, and equitable access; the pilot would initially be funded by the OIC’s regulatory accounts and is described as working in tandem with the DNR’s Ready Neighbors programme. The letter further states that homeowners who go through the programme could not be canceled or nonrenewed based on their wildfire risk, a constraint that would directly affect insurer nonrenewal and cancellation decisions in Washington for participating properties, as described by the Washington OIC-supported proposal. As of February 9, the bill is scheduled for an executive session in the Senate Committee regarding ways and means.