{"id":18384,"date":"2025-08-03T12:02:31","date_gmt":"2025-08-03T18:02:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/heinrich-bill-targets-new-mexicos-wildfire-insurance-crisis\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T19:39:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T19:39:09","slug":"heinrich-bill-targets-new-mexicos-wildfire-insurance-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/heinrich-bill-targets-new-mexicos-wildfire-insurance-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Heinrich bill targets New Mexico\u2019s wildfire insurance crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The
The Hermits Peak\/Calf Canyon Fire started when prescribed burns got out of control in part due to high wind conditions. It became the largest wildfire in the state\u2019s history, in terms of acreage burned. (U.S. Forest Service)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

New Mexico homeowners facing skyrocketing insurance premiums and policy cancellations could benefit from federal legislation aimed at understanding how wildfires drive the insurance crisis affecting one in eight properties in the state.<\/p>\n

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., and Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., introduced the Wildfire Insurance Coverage Study Act on July 25, legislation requiring the Government Accountability Office to examine how increasingly destructive wildfires affect homeowners\u2019 access to insurance coverage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m hearing from more and more New Mexicans who\u2019ve seen their insurance premiums skyrocket, lost coverage entirely, or been priced out of protecting their homes. That is completely unacceptable,\u201d Heinrich said in a news release. \u201cFamilies deserve fair, transparent coverage they can count on.\u201d<\/p>\n

The legislation comes as New Mexico grapples with an escalating insurance crisis triggered by record wildfire activity. In 2022, the state experienced its two largest wildfires in history \u2013 the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon and Black fires, each burning more than 300,000 acres. This year, the South Fork and Salt fires near Ruidoso destroyed approximately 1,400 structures.<\/p>\n

Heinrich, who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, referenced a 2023 report he authored as chairman of the Joint Economic Committee that found wildfires cost the United States between $394 billion and $893 billion annually \u2013 more than double previous government estimates.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need a clearer picture of how worsening wildfires and climate risks are impacting insurance companies\u2019 decisions to raise insurance premiums,\u201d Heinrich said in the news release. \u201cWithout better data, we can\u2019t push back when insurers jack up rates or pull the rug out from under homeowners altogether.\u201d<\/p>\n

The insurance crisis extends beyond New Mexico. Sheehy said in the news release that one-third of Americans live in wildfire-prone areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you can\u2019t get or afford homeowners\u2019 insurance, you can\u2019t finance your home, which means hardworking families can\u2019t achieve homeownership,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The proposed federal study would examine the extent of growing wildfire risks nationwide, the current state of homeowners and commercial property insurance coverage for wildfire damage, and how often private insurers have refused to renew policies based on geographic location. It would also analyze state insurance regulators\u2019 responses to increased premiums and coverage exclusions, and assess the need for a national wildfire risk map.<\/p>\n

New Mexico\u2019s insurance problems are particularly acute in specific regions. Some counties have seen premium increases between 41% and 47% from 2020 to 2023, while the state average increased 16%, according to the Office of the Superintendent of Insurance.<\/p>\n

Heinrich\u2019s JEC report found that wildfires create financial risks that are difficult to predict because they can start for numerous reasons and depend on complex combinations of topography, drought conditions, wind patterns, fuel amounts and house locations. These unpredictable risks have led many insurers to either raise premiums substantially across Western and forested communities or withdraw from markets entirely.<\/p>\n

The legislation is endorsed by Public Citizen and the National Association of Counties.<\/p>\n

The New Mexico Office of the Superintendent of Insurance has observed a \u201csignificant jump\u201d in non-renewals in 2023, a rate that remained high in 2024, according to recent reporting by Source New Mexico.<\/p>\n

For homeowners unable to secure private insurance, New Mexico operates a FAIR Plan as an \u201cinsurer of last resort,\u201d though these policies typically carry higher premiums than private market options.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Legislation would require GAO to examine how wildfires affect homeowners\u2019 access to insurance coverage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-18384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18384"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18384\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20559,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18384\/revisions\/20559"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18384"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=18384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}