Growing wildfire risk leaves states grappling with how to keep property insurers from fleeing

Months after a catastrophic fire burned more than 2,200 homes and killed 101 people in Hawaii, some property owners are getting more bad news — their property insurance won’t be renewed because their insurance company has deemed the risk too high. It’s a problem that has played out in states across the U.S. as climate change has raised the risks of wildfires. State insurance commissioners gathered at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, this week to talk about ways to mitigate those risks and keep insurance companies in business and residents insured. Hawaii Insurance Commissioner Gordon Ito says one or two insurance companies in his state are no longer renewing policies for some wood-built townhomes.