Donna Yutzy cleans the gutters of her home from flammable debris in the Magalia area of Butte County on Nov. 4, 2023. State law prohibits the use of landscaping plants and any flammable materials within a five-foot radius of the house. Photo by Manuel Orbegozo for CalMattersSpend any time thinking or talking about insurance in California these days and you’re bound to hear the word “mitigation.”
Becker’s staff cites the billions of dollars the state has spent on reducing fuel and managing vegetation since 2017, when wildfires consumed many parts of California. The sum doesn’t include other spending on fire engines, air tankers and increasing staff for Cal Fire, which has added about 4,500 positions in the past decade.
“Insurance companies are trying their best to incorporate already,” Scott said, pointing to a recent state regulation directing insurers to incorporate mitigation into determining premiums — which Scott wrote in a report “presents tremendous challenges for insurers in terms of compliance and the potential erosion of adequate rates for wildfire risk.
calls for the Insurance Department and the California Office of Emergency Services to work together on figuring out whether investments in mitigation are helping insurance availability.