We want to thank our speakers, Mark Brown and Adam Cole, for their excellent presentations at our April 8 event-Wildfire Preparedness and Insurance: Navigating Risks – Mitigation, the Legal Backdrop, Challenges and Possible Ways Forward. Notes will be available shortly. Please get back if you would like a copy of the speakers' slide decks.
We look forward to our timely meeting on Tuesday, April 8, 2025. We are pleased to announce that this meeting will be a joint one between us (ESP) and the Climate Action Working Group (CAWG) of the Marin Conservation League (MCL). It is virtual and will be hosted by CAWG. They require registration so please follow their instructions. Your registration approval will include zoom link. Register for Meeting
Wildfire Preparedness and Insurance: Navigating Risks – Mitigation, the Legal Backdrop, Challenges and Possible Ways Forward
Speakers:
Mark Brown, Executive Officer of the Marin Wildfire Protection Agency, will talk about the primary risks to our homes, how we and fire professionals can assess that risk at the parcel risk and community level risk and the mitigation efforts that we need to undertake. Much of Marin Wildfire’s mitigation efforts are not new, but the pace and scale of their efforts exceed most other communities. Mark believes that by guiding and measuring MWPA mitigation efforts through science and data at a new level they are helping to create a sustainable insurance environment. Mark will answer questions about impending new legal requirements relating to Zero to Five feet.
Adam Cole, attorney and former General Counsel of the California Department of Insurance, will speak about the current legal backdrop in California related to homeowner’s insurance. What is the current availability and pricing of insurance in the face of wildfires? What does the “Sustainable Insurance Strategy” being rolled out by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and how does it seek to improve insurance availability and affordability? Are insurers doing enough to acknowledge mitigation? Can they be forced to do more?
AGENDA- ESP Partnership and Climate Action Working Group
April 8, 2025, 2-4 P.M.
I. Welcome and Introductions- Belle and Robert Miller, 5 minutes each
II. ESP Partnership Report- Belle, 5 minutes
III. CAWG Report- Ken Strong, 5 minutes
IV. MWPA Developments- Mark Brown and Anne Crealock-10 minutes
V. Presentation and Q&A- 1 hour plus