Hawaiʻi Wildfire Management Organization hosts free webinar on the national wildfire-insurance crisis

Five organizations will host a free open webinar to address a national insurance crisis, triggered by wildfires across the US over the last 8 to 5 years.

Hawaiʻi Wildfire Management Organization, in partnership with Headwaters Economics, the National Fire Protection Association, the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, and Verisk, will host the webinar, “It’s Complicated: Understanding the Wildfire Insurance Crisis” Friday, Feb. 6 at 11 a.m.

Wildfire risk is reshaping the insurance landscape nationwide, and Hawaiʻi is beginning to experience its own impacts. Across the country, rising insurance premiums, nonrenewable, and evolving mitigation expectations are creating challenges for homeowners, communities and organizations working to reduce wildfire risk. Learning about this can help Hawai‘i take proactive actions.

This webinar will bring together nationally recognized experts to explain what is driving insurance decisions, how wildfire risk is assessed, and how mitigation efforts factor into insurance outcomes. 

Speakers represent leading institutions in wildfire science, insurance risk modeling, and loss prevention. They’ll offer participants a rare opportunity to hear directly from experts shaping the national conversation.

As part of its role supporting wildfire readiness across Hawaiʻi, HWMO works to anticipate emerging wildfire-related risks and priorities for the state, counties, and community partners. 

This webinar reflects HWMO’s commitment to convening leading experts and translating complex, national-level knowledge into accessible, locally relevant information, strengthening collective understanding and preparedness across Hawaiʻi.

Featured speakers include:

• JulieAnna Anastassatos, Verisk
• Michele Steinberg, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
• Steve Hawks, Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS)
• Kimiko Barrett, PhD, Headwaters Economics
  

The presentation will be followed by a moderated question-and-answer session, drawing from questions submitted during registration and through the Zoom webinar Q&A. 

The webinar is open to all, and advance registration is required. Register at: bit.ly/WICHAWAII

For more information visit: http://www.HWMO.org