Arizona Study Group Issues Report on Homeowners Insurance and Wildfire Risk

A report from a regulator-created group found that a multifaceted approach to addressing wildfires and lack of insurance affordability in Arizona should be tackled with a multifaceted approach that includes homeowners, communities and the state working in tandem to implement solutions.

The Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions announced the release of the Resiliency and Mitigation Council’s report on the availability and affordability of homeowners insurance in areas of the state impacted by heightened wildfire risk.

The report, which examines the trends in Arizona’s homeowners insurance market, mitigation measures to reduce the risk of wildfire to properties, and approaches other states have adopted, follows a year of investigation and collaboration with public and private sector experts.

The council, established by the former DIFI director on Dec. 2, 2024, was tasked with investigating the challenges Arizona homeowners face in forested and wildland-urban interface areas.

The council held meetings between December 2024 and September 2025, hearing testimony from the public and expertise from a wide range of organizations. Their investigation focused on:

• The frequency and severity of natural disasters, including wildfires and subsequent flooding.
• DIFI’s regulatory authority over property/casualty insurance rates in Arizona.
• Forestry management and wildfire mitigation practices.
• The effect of insurance losses on the availability and affordability of property insurance, including policy non-renewals and consumer discounts for mitigation efforts.
• Building codes and construction practices.
• Strategies implemented by other states to reduce natural disaster risk and improve insurance markets.
• Catastrophe modeling, public outreach and funding sources for mitigation projects.