KatRisk, a provider of catastrophe risk modelling and analytics for the insurance and reinsurance industries, has introduced a new generation of wildfire risk capabilities.
The company said the solution combines Technosylva’s physics-based wildfire science with KatRisk’s catastrophe modelling and portfolio analytics technology to provide insurers with a more detailed view of wildfire risk.
According to KatRisk, the launch reflects the growing need for more advanced wildfire assessment as fires become increasingly severe and less predictable.
The company said traditional approaches often rely on historical loss data and static hazard maps, which may not fully capture today’s changing wildfire conditions. KatRisk stated that its latest capabilities are designed to model how fires ignite, spread, intensify and ultimately result in financial losses under evolving environmental conditions.
The platform is built on Technosylva’s physics-based wildfire modelling technology, which has been developed over more than three decades. The technology is used by 40 major utilities, including approximately 80% of the Fortune 500, as well as organisations such as CAL FIRE, the US Forest Service and wildfire agencies operating across more than a dozen countries.
“Wildfire risk is no longer stationary,” commented Martyn Sutton, General Manager of KatRisk. “The conditions driving catastrophic fire are evolving rapidly, yet many traditional approaches still rely heavily on historical views of risk. By integrating operational fire behavior science directly into catastrophe analytics, we’re helping insurers better understand not just where fires have happened, but where catastrophic fire conditions may emerge next.”
KatRisk said its modelling approach differs from conventional wildfire catastrophe models by focusing first on the physical processes that drive wildfire behaviour before translating those factors into insurance risk. The models account for the influence of fuel conditions, terrain and slope, the impact of weather and wind on fire growth, the way wildfire behaviour changes over time, smoke and off-footprint effects, the spread of fires through urban areas and the accumulation of wildfire exposure across portfolios and geographical regions.
This methodology enables the company to produce outputs that support underwriting, pricing, portfolio management and climate risk analysis while preserving the scientific complexity behind the modelling.
The new capabilities include wildfire spread modelling at 30-metre resolution across the continental United States, dynamic hazard assessments for both short-term and long-term planning, climate-adjusted modelling across different scenarios and time horizons, smoke impact modelling linked to fire physics and Air Quality Index measures, property and neighbourhood vulnerability adjustments, and advanced urban conflagration modelling developed alongside CAL FIRE and PG&E.
The urban fire modelling has been validated against recent wildfire events, including the Palisades and Eaton fires. KatRisk also said its portfolio analytics engine can process event sets covering more than 50,000 years within seconds.
The company said the launch comes at a time when wildfire losses continue to place increasing pressure on insurance markets globally. According to KatRisk, recent events, including the 2025 Los Angeles fires, have reinforced the need for forward-looking wildfire risk assessment based on current and emerging conditions rather than historical patterns alone.
“Technosylva’s wildfire science has been tested in front-line environments where decisions directly impact lives, infrastructure, and critical services,” added Joaquin Ramirez, CTO and founder of Technosylva. “Bringing that operational rigor into insurance workflows creates a fundamentally different standard for understanding wildfire risk.”
KatRisk said the new wildfire capabilities form part of KatRisk Intelligence, the company’s catastrophe risk modelling and hazard analytics platform, which also covers flood, severe convective storm, tropical cyclone wind and earthquake risks.
