USAA Recognizes Value of Firewise Program to Help Protect Oregon Residences

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and USAA announced today that USAA policyholders living in a recognized Firewise Communities/USA(r) site in Oregon will receive a discount on their homeowners insurance premium. NFPA’s Firewise Communities/USA(r) Recognition Program provided the community action framework and local data that supported USAA’s decision to offer the discount to its members.
 
USAA, which provides a full range of financial products and services to the military community and their families, has been working with NFPA’s Wildland Fire Operations Division for several years to develop an incentive for residents living in wildfire-prone areas to implement components that create safer, more fire-adapted communities. As of June 30, the discount will automatically be applied to new homeowners and rental property policies issued or renewed in the state. USAA members in Firewise communities in Oregon join their counterparts in California, Colorado, Texas and Arizona in being offered the Firewise discount.
 
“USAA understands that to reduce wildfire losses, proactive actions must be implemented before fires happen,” said Cathy Prudhomme, NFPA’s Firewise Communities/USA program manager. “When a Firewise community completes a broad range of risk reduction activities, residents and their property are the direct benefactors. The program promotes community-wide behavior changes that help protect lives and property when the required criteria are completed.”
 
NFPA launched its voluntary Firewise program in 2002 in collaboration with state forestry officials across the nation. As part of the recognition process, residents are asked to come together to address their risk assessment using a long-term plan and completing annual projects, as well as documenting an annual per capita investment in wildfire risk reduction actions.
 
“Preventing costly damage from wildfire needs to be a community effort. It is important for homeowners to understand what can be done to prevent damages and work together and take action to reduce the risks of wildfires,” said Tom Woods, assistant vice president of underwriting programs and prevention & safety at USAA. “We want the Firewise discount to be an incentive for individuals to take preventative steps in order to protect their neighborhoods and communities.”
 
Currently there are more than 1,300 active communities participating in Firewise throughout 41 states. In Oregon, there are 102 active Firewise communities. In the past year, those communities invested more than $1.7 million in Firewise mitigation activities.
 
To find out more about the USAA policyholder discount for Firewise community residents, please visit NFPA’s Firewise website.