Amwins Access, a binding and brokerage platform for the P&C industry, has launched the Excess Wildfire Product that has been designed to complement a self-insured retention plan or the California FAIR (or a similar) plan.
Amwins has partnered with PartnerRe Insurance Solutions Bermuda Ltd., a global reinsurer, to offer its excess wildfire coverage product. Kettle Limited, a technology-oriented company, is also involved in the partnership and provides crucial data analysis, modeling, and pricing services to match markets with the appropriate risk appetite.
Amwins’ excess wildfire coverage is limited to California and can only be obtained through Amwins’ authorized retail partners. This insurance product is designed to cover losses caused by wildfires and offers up to $7 million in coverage for residential properties with replacement costs of up to $20 million, the company said.
“Risk placements in wildfire and other CAT-exposed areas remain challenging, with rates and deductibles continuing to climb,” said Kris Zebratski, senior vice president at Amwins Access.
“The situation not only presents capacity challenges, but also adds complexity to the coverage placement process, leaving policyholders exposed to significant losses. Within this dynamic market, we’re excited to join with PartnerRe Insurance Solutions Bermuda Ltd. and Kettle to provide our market partners with profitable results and unparalleled distribution, while also acting as problem solvers for our retail agents, creating innovative products tailored to their unique needs,” Zebratski added.
To be eligible for the excess wildfire coverage policy, the Homeowners / Dwelling Property (HO/DP) insurance policy must have a sublimit of at least $3 million for fire or wildfire. If there is no existing wildfire coverage in the underlying policy, the Self Insured Retention (SIR) must be a minimum of $3 million.
“With the launch of the Excess Wildfire Product, Kettle is proud to expand our partnership with Amwins and PartnerRe Insurance Solutions Bermuda Ltd. to provide a meaningful solution for homeowners in an extremely difficult environment,” said Amit Shah, president of Kettle. “Kettle’s proven modeling technology and analytics give a crucial underwriting edge in a time when catastrophic losses are increasing in both severity and frequency.”
“Wildfires in California remain challenging – most carriers either will not entertain a risk with the exposure, or they’ll exclude the peril entirely,” said Joel Livingston, head of Insurance Programs at PartnerRe. “Thanks to the CatFocus® California Wildfire catastrophe model developed by our research team, we are able to further validate Kettle’s modeling approach and provide a reliable benchmark to price this risk. By combining PartnerRe’s know-how with the expertise of Amwins and the capabilities of Kettle, our tri-party effort is poised to be a true game-changer.”
Kettle uses its proprietary machine learning algorithms, which analyse over seven billion lines of weather and ground data, to evaluate eligibility and pricing for the excess wildfire coverage policy.
California has endured a series of catastrophic wildfires in the past ten years, with high-value residential properties being particularly vulnerable. Climate change and weather patterns suggest that the state is unlikely to experience any relief from these disasters. Amwins, the largest independent wholesale distributor of specialty insurance products in the U.S., said it remains determined to confront the challenge of the California wildfire market head-on.
