The Basics

Why a Standard Policy Can Leave You Short

Wildfire is a covered peril on most homeowners policies, but that is only half the story. When whole neighborhoods rebuild at once, construction costs spike, and a policy written to yesterday's replacement cost can fall thousands of dollars short. Add in smoke and ash damage, debris removal, and the cost of living somewhere else for months, and the gaps add up fast.

We sit down and read your policy the way a claim would, then show you exactly where you are exposed and how to fix it. You deal with a Jacobs family member who lives here too, all backed by Allstate's national claims network.

What a strong wildfire policy should include

Extended or guaranteed replacement cost on the dwelling
Smoke and ash damage, even without direct flames
Debris removal and building code upgrades
Loss of use to cover months away from home
Detached structures, fencing, and outbuildings
Enough contents coverage for what you actually own

The gaps we see most in Northern NM

Dwelling limits set too low. Older policies rarely keep pace with today's rebuild costs, especially after a large fire.
No extended replacement cost. Without it, a total loss is capped even when rebuilding costs more.
Outbuildings underinsured. Barns, sheds, and fencing often fall outside the main dwelling limit.
Defensible space not reflected. Clearing brush and hardening your home can improve both safety and eligibility.

Homes along the forested Sangre de Cristo foothills near Santa Fe

Prepare & Protect

Defensible Space Works, and So Does the Right Policy

Clearing brush, trimming trees, and hardening your roof and vents genuinely reduces wildfire risk, and it can be the difference between a carrier writing your home and declining it. Santa Fe County's Ready, Set, Go! program lays out the standard, organized as zones measured outward from the house. Aim for at least 100 feet of treated space, and more on a slope or in heavy timber.

Zone 1, the first 30 feet. Keep it leanest. Clear dead plants, dry grass, needles, and leaf litter, including off the roof and out of the gutters. Keep the first five feet around the foundation non-combustible — gravel or stone, not bark mulch. Move woodpiles and propane well away from the house, and clear out everything stored under decks and stairs.
Zone 2, 30 to 100 feet. Thin trees so crowns are separated rather than continuous. Break up ladder fuels, the low limbs and brush that let a grass fire climb into the treetops. Prune lower branches up off the ground and mow dry grass in the cool of the morning, not in afternoon wind.
Zone 3, 100 to 200 feet. Keep thinning toward an open, healthy stand, remove dead and dying trees, keep limbs clear of power lines, and keep the driveway wide and clear enough for a fire engine to turn around.
Harden the building. Screen attic and crawlspace vents, box in eaves with non-combustible material, fit a chimney spark arrestor, screen the gutters, and keep the roof swept. Most homes lost to wildfire are ignited by embers arriving ahead of the fire, not by a wall of flame.

We pair that preparation with a policy that pays properly if the worst still happens, so you are covered on both sides, before and after a fire.

Full Mitigation Guide Read the Ready, Set, Go! Guide

Hazard Mitigation

The 45-Day Inspection Nobody Warns You About

This is the question we answer more than any other at seminars and homeowner meetings. Binding a policy is not the end of underwriting. After a new home policy starts, the carrier typically reserves roughly the first 45 days to send an inspector out, and what that inspector photographs can become a requirement you have to meet to keep your coverage.

1

Policy is bound

Coverage starts and you are insured from day one. Underwriting, however, is not finished.

2

Inspection window opens

The carrier orders an inspection, typically inside the first 45 days. For an exterior look you usually need not be home.

3

Hazards are photographed

Brush against the walls, limbs over the roof, debris in the gutters, a woodpile on the deck, unscreened vents.

4

You do the work

Underwriting sends a list of conditions to correct, with a deadline. The work is the homeowner's responsibility.

5

You document it

Photograph the finished work and send it in. Once accepted, the requirement is cleared and the policy carries on.

If the work is not completed in time, the carrier can terminate the policy. Correcting the listed hazards is a condition of keeping your insurance, not a recommendation. The fire department writes the mitigation guidelines but generally cannot require the work on private land — your insurer is the one that can.

Read the Full Mitigation & Inspection Guide

The Fire Science

How Wildfire Actually Reaches a Home

Fire researchers at the 2025 Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Summit were clear: wildfire losses are not random. Homes ignite in a few well-understood ways, and hardened homes with maintained defensible space survive at far higher rates, even in extreme, wind-driven fires. That is exactly why we treat home preparation and the right policy as two halves of one job.

Ember Intrusion

Wind-driven embers travel well ahead of a fire and slip into vents, gaps, and gutters. Most homes lost to wildfire are ignited by embers, not a wall of flame.

Radiant Heat

Heat from nearby burning brush or a neighboring home can crack glass and ignite siding with no direct contact. Spacing and hardened materials buy critical minutes.

Direct Flame

Flames reaching the house along dry brush, a wood fence, or an attached deck. Defensible space and non-combustible edges break that path to the structure.

Home-to-Home Spread

Once fire reaches a neighborhood, homes themselves become fuel. One burning house radiates enough heat to ignite the next, which is how whole streets are lost.

1 in 3

U.S. homes now sit in wildfire-prone areas

0

main ways a home ignites in a wildfire

0

years of post-fire studies point to the same fixes

under 3%

added to build cost to fire-harden a new home

What We Protect

Coverage for Everything on Your Property

Your Home

Extended replacement cost on the dwelling.

Outbuildings

Barns, sheds, and detached garages.

Fencing & Land

Perimeter fencing and cleared acreage.

Somewhere to Stay

Loss of use while you rebuild.

Round Out Your Coverage

Related Protection

Good to Know

Wildfire Coverage FAQs

Fire is a covered peril on most policies, but the amount matters as much as the peril. If your dwelling limit or contents coverage is too low, or you lack extended replacement cost, a wildfire loss can leave you paying the difference. Our free review checks exactly that.

We read your current policy line by line, compare your limits to real rebuild costs in Northern New Mexico, and flag gaps in replacement cost, smoke and ash coverage, outbuildings, and loss of use. There is no cost and no obligation to switch.

A well-written policy covers smoke and ash damage from a nearby wildfire even when the flames never reach your property. We make sure this is in place, since smoke losses are common across Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico during fire season.

Yes. Clearing brush, trimming trees, and hardening your roof and vents reduces risk and can help with insurability. Santa Fe County's Ready, Set, Go guide walks you through it, and we help you match that preparation with the right policy.

Yes. Fire researchers are clear that hardened homes with maintained defensible space survive at significantly higher rates, even in extreme, wind-driven fires. Mitigation does not eliminate the risk, but it meaningfully lowers the odds of losing your home and can help with insurability. We help you pair that preparation with a policy that pays properly if the worst still happens.

Because binding a policy and completing underwriting are two different things. Carriers typically reserve roughly the first 45 days of a new home policy to inspect the property in person. You are covered during that window. If the inspector photographs wildfire hazards, underwriting sends a list of conditions to correct by a deadline, and completing that work is a condition of keeping the policy. Our hazard mitigation and inspection guide walks through the whole process.

Yes. If underwriting identifies hazards and you do not correct and document them within the window you were given, the carrier can cancel or non-renew. That leaves you shopping for coverage with a termination on record, in a market that has grown noticeably more selective about wildfire-exposed property in Northern New Mexico. Send us the notice the day it arrives and we will tell you exactly what it requires.

Generally no. The fire department and land agencies publish the mitigation guidelines, run programs like Ready, Set, Go!, and will often assess your property for free, but on private land they advise rather than compel. Your insurance company is the one with leverage, because it can make the work a condition of continuing your policy. Do the work on the fire department's guidance, then document it for your insurer.

Wildfire Coverage That Actually Holds Up Here