Residents in a small town in Idaho were caught off-guard when insurance companies began dropping them with little warning.
What's happening?
Steve Koppes, a resident of Placerville, Idaho, explained to KTVB7 in November that he was dropped from his insurance company over 18 months ago because he lives in a wildfire-prone area. Placerville has a population of just 53 and is located in the middle of the Boise National Forest.
Koppes said he was with the same insurance provider for years and never filed a claim of any kind before being unceremoniously dropped because his home was deemed to be in a high-risk location. Each city is ranked on a scale by the Idaho Insurance Ratings Bureau to determine its risk for wildfire, and Placerville has been at a level eight since 2010, per KTVB.
"I was dropped. I didn't get a letter, I didn't get notification, I didn't get reasons. I was just dropped," Koppes told KTVB7.
To make matters worse, when Koppes found a new insurance company, he faced a steeper price. He added that many of his neighbors have also been dropped by their insurance companies, and those who haven't are expecting it to happen soon.
"It'll happen to everybody eventually," Koppes told KTVB7.
Why is this important?
As the planet continues to warm, conditions like extreme heat, strong winds and dry vegetation are becoming more common, leading to more frequent and intense wildfires around the world.
Unfortunately, Koppes isn't alone in facing the issue of being dropped by a home insurer. Per KTVB7, a PolicyGenius Climate Change and Homebuying survey found that 6% of homeowners across the U.S. experienced the same thing because they lived in a wildfire-prone area.
In Idaho, 52 homes burned in 2024, but Placerville was fortunately unharmed. The Great Basin, which includes Idaho, Nevada, and Utah, saw 1.2 million acres of land burned this year, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
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In addition to wildfires, extreme weather like hurricanes, tornadoes, and storms have also led insurance companies to hike their premiums and drop homeowners in high-risk areas at unprecedented rates.
What's being done about this?
Koppes told KTVB7 that he's tried to make his home as fire-resistant as it could be by cutting the ladder fuel off all trees, establishing fire breaks, and putting rocks around his property.
"If there's a fire over there, it won't get to me," Koppes said.
Placerville fire chief Andrew Bourett told KTVB7 that the city is trying to lower its rating in the Idaho Insurance Ratings Bureau.
One avenue would be to have more water supplies, as Placerville has just two: a pond and a new underground water cistern that can hold up to 30,000 gallons of water. Bourett said the city will not give up on the fight to keep its home insurance rates affordable and available.
"I'm not seeing [finding insurance] being impossible, but it's definitely a little bit harder and more of a challenge," Bourett told KTVB7.
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