Roy Wright News

In the Face of a Severe California Wildfire Season, is The Oft-Used ‘Mitigation’ Word Too Little Too Late?

It may have been around 2017 when a true sense of urgency donned on insurers, public officials, residents and regulators in wildfire-prone California, as fires destroyed or damaged more than 10,000 structures in the state, a higher tally than the …

Not All Homes in Wildfire Zones Are Uninsurable. Here’s How Insurers Can Tell.

Fire-risk scores now used by insurance underwriters can sometimes can make it challenging for homeowners to find coverage. Zesty.ai, a California insurtech start-up, is among a handful of firms working to fine-tune fire-risk scores so that some homeowners have a …

How Homes Are Being Built, Raised to Withstand Extreme Weather

Breezy Point is beautiful in the summertime, a quaint neighborhood sitting on a slim peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic just south of New York City. In a storm, though, that dreamy setting can become a nightmare. Breezy Point …

Burning Down a House to Show How to Build for Wildfire Defense

After only a year into his job as CEO and president of the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, Roy Wright is setting the place on fire. The IBHS conducted a demonstration in early March simulating an active wildfire …

Assessing Effects of Government Shutdown on Wildfires, Workforce, Research

The government may be reopening, but the consequences of the longest federal shutdown in U.S. history are likely to linger for national parks, forests, the federal workforce and cutting-edge scientific research. Some may even be permanent. Many fire crews missed …

Latest Storms May Finally Shift Focus to Disaster Mitigation by Local Communities

Hurricane Michael’s devastation could spur policymakers to better prepare vulnerable communities for the effects of climate change. The images of entire towns in Florida’s panhandle all but erased by storm surges, as well as accounts of bodies pulled from shattered …

Hurricane-Proof Home Building Available But Pricey, Slow to Be Adopted

In a private waterfront resort on the northern tip of Key Largo, nestled between tropical forest and the Caribbean, Eric Soulavy is marketing luxury for the age of climate change: Coastal homes that are all but hurricane proof. The Florida-based …

Wright Leaving FEMA to Head IBHS, Succeeding Rochman

The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) announced that Roy E. Wright has been selected as the next president and chief executive officer of the organization, succeeding Julie Rochman who is retiring after more than 10 years at …

FEMA to Issue First Catastrophe Bond for Flood Insurance Program

In another step shifting risk to private markets, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said it intends to secure additional reinsurance for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through issuance of a catastrophe bond. FEMA began purchasing private reinsurance in …

FEMA Expands Flood Reinsurance Program with Private Reinsurers for 2018

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has completed a reinsurance placement with 28 private reinsurers to help the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) recover losses it may have to pay in 2018. Expanding on its first private reinsurance placement last …