Global Wildfire Risk Collaboration Expands with Willis' Involvement along with the University of East Anglia
In the face of escalating wildfire risks, several industry partnerships have been formed to combat the growing threat.
ZestyAI, an AI-powered climate and property risk analytics provider, has partnered with CSAA Insurance Group to assess wildfire risks across the United States. This collaboration aims to address wildfire risks threatening states across the country. CSAA Insurance Group plans to integrate ZestyAI's Z-FIRETM into underwriting to gauge property-level wildfire risk.
Meanwhile, Willis Re, the reinsurance division of Willis Towers Watson, has deployed a wildfire risk solution to assess location-level wildfire risk in the U.S. and correlate it to the company's portfolio-level wildfire exposure. This partnership combines Willis' expertise in catastrophe risk modeling with the leading climate and fire science of Dr. Matthew Jones at the University of East Anglia (UEA).
The collaboration aims to distil the latest research into meaningful insights that help clients understand and manage wildfire risk, today and into the future. The partnership supports the annual State of Wildfires Report, analyzing extreme wildfire events, projecting future risk trends, and proposing effective risk management strategies.
Recent years have seen wildfires become more frequent and severe, leading to larger, more destructive, and less predictable fire events. Examples include the 2019–2020 Black Summer bushfires in Australia that caused about $1.5 billion in insured losses and the 2025 Palisades and Eaton fires in Los Angeles with estimated damages of $40 billion. These incidents highlight that wildfires are no longer a secondary peril.
Climate change is expanding fire-prone zones beyond their historical hotspots, contributing to novel wildfire risks in regions previously less affected. This geographic shift challenges current risk assessment and management frameworks in the insurance sector. The increasing urban growth into fire-prone areas and rising property values amplify the potential for catastrophic loss from wildfires. The blending of wildland and urban environments creates complex challenges for risk modeling and poses greater threats to communities and infrastructure.
The partnership will help the insurance sector understand the shifting nature of wildfire risk, including changes in fire frequency, intensity, geography, and the growing threat of urban conflagrations. The research network involves over 60 fire science institutions coordinated by Dr. Matthew Jones, ensuring a comprehensive scientific basis to address wildfire uncertainties and support resilience and preparedness efforts in vulnerable regions.
In a separate initiative, The Nature Conservancy and Willis Towers Watson have published analysis showing that ecological forest management can reduce the risk of severe wildfires and lower insurance costs. Controlled burning and ecological thinning, modeled by Willis Towers Watson, can impact insurance costs by reducing wildfire risk in fire-adapted forests.
In summary, these collaborations underscore that global wildfire risk is increasing in frequency and intensity, spreading into new geographic areas, and poses rising hazards due to urban interface growth. The research aims to equip the insurance industry and policymakers with rigorous scientific data and tools to better assess, manage, and mitigate these escalated wildfire risks under the influence of climate change.
- The collaboration between ZestyAI and CSAA Insurance Group involves integrating ZestyAI's Z-FIRETM into underwriting to evaluate property-level wildfire risk, which is a crucial aspect of the insurance sector.
- Climate change expands fire-prone zones, creating novel wildfire risks in regions previously less affected, challenging current risk assessment and management frameworks in the insurance sector.
- The research network, coordinated by Dr. Matthew Jones, involves over 60 fire science institutions and aims to address wildfire uncertainties, supporting resilience and preparedness efforts in vulnerable regions.
- Ecological forest management, such as controlled burning and ecological thinning, modeled by Willis Towers Watson, can reduce the risk of severe wildfires and lower insurance costs, offering a potential solution to combating the growing wildfire threat.
