Windward Risk Managers, a US home insurance specialist founded in 2005, has expanded its use of ZestyAI’s platform to support its entry into the California homeowners market, deploying the Z-FIRE™ wildfire risk model to underpin its underwriting decisions in the state.
The move builds on an existing relationship between the two companies: Windward already relies on ZestyAI’s Z-PROPERTY™ model across its Florida homeowners book.
Having established confidence in that tool, the insurer has now adopted Z-FIRE™ to navigate the distinct challenges posed by wildfire exposure as it grows into California, widely regarded as one of the most demanding catastrophe markets in the country.
Z-FIRE™ holds regulatory approval across Western wildfire markets and was the first AI-based wildfire model to be approved as part of a carrier rate filing in California. ZestyAI’s wider suite of risk models has collectively received more than 200 regulatory approvals across the United States.
Z-FIRE™ is designed to go beyond broad geographic risk indicators, instead assessing which individual properties are most vulnerable to wildfire damage and which are likely to withstand a fire event. The model applies computer vision and machine learning to evaluate a range of structural and environmental factors, including defensible space, vegetation density, building materials, and topography. It has been trained on what ZestyAI describes as the insurance industry’s largest wildfire loss dataset.
Windward Risk Managers is an established participant in the home insurance sector, providing services to insurance carriers through its expertise in underwriting and portfolio management. The company’s Z-PROPERTY™ deployment in Florida draws on computer vision and machine learning applied to aerial imagery, building permit records, and tax assessment data, producing insights across more than 70 structural and parcel attributes for 150 million residential and commercial properties nationwide.
ZestyAI positions itself as a risk and decision intelligence platform for the insurance sector, serving property and casualty carriers, reinsurers, brokers, and regulators across the United States.
Windward Risk Managers chief risk officer Gard Olbers said, “Z-PROPERTY gave us accurate property insights and broad coverage across our Florida portfolio. That experience made ZestyAI a natural partner as we expand into California, where Z-FIRE gives us an accurate, predictive view of wildfire risk as we evaluate and manage exposure.”
ZestyAI founder and CEO Attila Toth said, “Windward Risk Manager’s expansion into California reflects how insurers can use advanced analytics to operate more confidently in wildfire-exposed markets. Windward Risk Managers has been a valued partner for many years, and their continued expansion with ZestyAI reflects the trust insurers place in accurate risk models as they navigate increasingly complex markets.”
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