Mercury Insurance has integrated XyloPlan’s building-level Wildfire Risk Scores, delivered via Milliman’s PinPoint API, to enhance its underwriting processes for wildfire-prone regions across California and the Western U.
S.
The Milliman PinPoint API facilitates the integration of XyloPlan’s scores, alongside a suite of geospatial indicators such as local topography, vegetation characteristics, and structure density, directly into Mercury’s operational workflow. This integration enables Mercury to assess exposure at both building and community levels, aiming to refine risk assessments, align pricing more accurately with risk, and support customers in making informed mitigation decisions.
Stephen Bennett, Head of Climate and Catastrophe Science at Mercury Insurance, emphasized the necessity of adapting to the evolving nature of wildfire science. He noted that leveraging XyloPlan’s insights into fire pathways and conflagration provides property-level intelligence to enhance protection for customers and communities.
XyloPlan’s Fire Pathways model simulates fire spread by accounting for factors like vegetation, terrain, weather patterns, and local mitigation efforts. This approach contrasts with traditional hazard maps, which often generalize risk across broader areas, offering a dynamic and forward-looking risk score that updates with changing conditions.
Dave Winnacker, Co-Founder of XyloPlan and a former fire chief, highlighted the importance of a common operational understanding of fire movement, particularly in wildland-urban interface zones. He stated that this collaboration translates practical fire service experience into operational intelligence for underwriting, community resilience, and mitigation investments.
Garrett Bradford, Principal & GIS Consultant at Milliman, commented on the industry’s need for granular, forward-looking risk tools that encompass both structure- and community-level risk measurements. He explained that incorporating XyloPlan’s dynamic wildfire risk scores into the PinPoint platform assists insurers like Mercury in making data-driven decisions amidst increasing wildfire volatility.
This initiative reflects a broader trend within the insurance sector, moving from reactive wildfire responses toward proactive, data-driven risk management strategies.
