Property & Casualty Insurance Companies
You Can’t Stop Wildfires
But You Can Stop Them from Burning Your Claims Reserves
What Will the Wildfire Menace Mean to Your Company?
More Fires
Bigger Fires
More Damage
More Claims
What We Do
Evaluate whether a structure has been impacted by wildfire exposure and assess the extent of that impact,
so that a legally defendable insurance coverage determination and appropriate monetary allocation can be made.
Traditional Investigations
Char
Char includes the solid material that remains after light gases and tar have been released from carbonaceous materials during initial stage of combustion or pyrolysis. Char is the solid carbon particle visible with a light microscope that still contains structure characteristic of the fuel or of the process creating the particle. Char is discernible from soot and ash because it possesses structure visible with the light microscope that can be used to determine the fuel or process that created the particle.
Soot
Soot is nanocarbon created by the incomplete combustion of a carbonaceous fuel. The composition of soot derived from different combustion materials can vary greatly and is combustion temperature dependent. Soot consists of particulate carbon and organic compounds.
Ash
Ash represents the residue powder left after combustion. Wood ash is typically between 0.43 and 1.82% of the mass of burned wood. The composition of ash varies between different plants and other debris from the fire. Chemical analysis has shown that calcium, potassium, silicon, and oxygen are the dominant elements in most ash.
THE PRESENCE OF CHAR, SOOT AND/OR ASH ARE NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF WILDFIRE IMPACT AS THERE ARE A MULTITUDE OF SOURCES OF CHAR, SOOT AND ASH PRESENT IN THE ENVIRONMENT WHICH HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH WILDFIRE.
Wildfire Signatures
There are no established standards for investigating smoke and ash claims.
Investigators typically look for wood and char components and visual clues – dark, dusty, dirty interiors have a layer over “old” dust as well as scent clues related to olfactory complaints.
Samples of settled dust that may be from a wildfire are collected using a variety of methods – vacuum, cotton swipe, tape lift etc. – while laboratories report on dust composition.
Late reported claims can and often have disruptions and intervening causes, with debris that looks like potential wildfire debris, but may be totally unrelated, such as wood stoves, fireplaces and black carbon deposits.
Your insurance company doesn’t have to settle for ineffective, antiquated wildfire investigative techniques.
Why Not Give Us a Call?
Sampling
What NOT To Do
What To Do
How do we mitigate your wildfire risk?
Over 20 years mitigating environmental risks
RiskNomics provides risk management and consulting services in the environmental and healthcare arenas internationally, advising clients in managing potential or existing risks strategically as well as economically.
Call: 480.315.1100
Let's Mitigate Your Wildfire Claims Risk
Contact Us
Wildfire Response Offices
Wildfire Response Command Center
880 Seven Hills Drive Suite 180
Henderson, NV 89052
Open Office Hours
Mon-Fri 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM Pacific
Phone
480.315.1100
After Hours: 602.628.8209
