With the threat of wildfires growing more intense and frequent across the American West, homeowners in Idaho are feeling the heat in more ways than one. As insurance carriers reconsider their risk exposure in fire-prone regions, the Idaho Department of Insurance is taking proactive steps to ensure residents don’t lose access to critical property coverage. The latest strategy? Encouraging a grassroots “home hardening” movement that empowers homeowners to reduce their own risk — and potentially their premiums.
Insurance Retreat in the Wake of Wildfires
Idaho has seen a dramatic shift in its property insurance landscape over the past two years. In 2023, about 91 insurance carriers operated in the state. Fast forward to 2025, and that number has dropped to just 22–25 — largely due to wildfire risk. The exit of so many providers has left some Idaho homeowners scrambling to maintain coverage or find new insurers willing to take them on.
Dean Cameron, director of the Idaho Department of Insurance, said that even insurers still operating in Idaho are becoming more selective. “We started seeing in our own marketplace, some of the carriers also being a little more cautious about who they would insure and how they would insure them,” Cameron explained.
Unlike 26 other states, Idaho does not offer a Fair Plan Act — a last-resort insurance program for homeowners unable to find coverage elsewhere. But Cameron argues that might actually help Idaho retain more carriers, since Fair Plans can place financial burdens on insurers through mandatory assessments for losses they can’t control.
Home Hardening: A Grassroots Risk Mitigation Strategy
Without a state-backed Fair Plan safety net, Idaho is turning to a more hands-on approach to keep homeowners insurable: helping them harden their homes against wildfires.
Home hardening involves making strategic improvements to a property to make it less vulnerable to fire damage. This can include:
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Cleaning out gutters to prevent the accumulation of flammable debris
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Replacing wooden fences with non-combustible materials like metal
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Establishing defensible green space or moist vegetation buffers around the home
Cameron emphasized that “insurance companies rate based on the risks that they see. If you can show that you’re less risky, then that does reflect in how they would rate you.”
Ember Safe: A Firefighter-Driven Certification Program
Two Idaho firefighters, seeing both the danger and opportunity firsthand, launched Ember Safe, a home inspection and certification initiative. The Ember Safe team visits homes across the state, assesses their fire risk, and provides customized recommendations for hardening the property.
Once those steps are taken, homeowners receive a certificate of completion — a tangible piece of evidence they can submit to their insurance carrier. “Some homeowners have gone full coverage again because of it,” said co-founder Zach Mason.
While certification doesn’t guarantee insurance coverage, it can make a powerful case to insurers that the home represents a reasonable risk.
Support from the State
To further incentivize home hardening, the Idaho Department of Insurance is currently working to pass legislation that would offer grants to help homeowners fund these mitigation efforts. The department is also collecting data on how many Idahoans have lost coverage in recent months, with the goal of offering tailored assistance and support.
“We encourage folks to do those kinds of things so they can make the argument to [insurers] that they are a reasonable risk to take on,” Cameron said.
Final Thoughts
Idaho’s home hardening initiative may become a model for wildfire-prone states looking to retain insurer participation without relying on complex Fair Plan frameworks. For homeowners, it provides a proactive path to preserving property protection — and for insurers, it offers a more palatable risk profile. As wildfires continue to reshape the insurance landscape, Idaho’s approach blends self-reliance, community action, and practical mitigation in a way that could help keep insurance within reach for thousands of families.