ZestyAI, the leader in AI-powered climate and property risk analytics, announced that Z-FIRE™, its advanced wildfire risk model, is filing-ready in California.
Z-FIRE can continue to be filed for rate segmentation and underwriting without further review under the Pre-Application Required Information Determination (PRID) process, which is currently focused on models that determine a catastrophe load factor. Z-FIRE was last included in an approved California rate filing in 2024.
Z-FIRE leverages AI-driven analysis of over 2,000 historical wildfires, integrating satellite and aerial imagery, topography, and property-level characteristics to provide precise risk assessments. This approach is rooted in decades of science and experimentation by researchers, including the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS). With coverage spanning nearly 100% of U.S. properties, Z-FIRE is already trusted by more than one-third of California’s insurance market, including the CA FAIR Plan, the state’s insurer of last resort, to refine underwriting, enhance risk segmentation, and ensure that premiums accurately reflect the true wildfire exposure and vulnerability of each individual structure.
“For years, leading insurers have trusted ZestyAI to manage wildfire exposure in California and refine pricing segmentation with precision,” said Attila Toth, Founder and CEO of ZestyAI. “Now, insurers can continue to confidently integrate it into their rate filings. They can trust that Z-FIRE meets the highest actuarial and scientific standards, ensuring transparency and reliability for regulators, carriers, and policyholders alike.”
ZestyAI continuously validates Z-FIRE’s performance through post-event analyses, assessing how well its risk designations align with real-world fire impacts. Following the recent Los Angeles wildfires, preliminary analysis indicates that Z-FIRE’s highest-risk ratings closely correspond with the hardest-hit areas, with 94% and 87% of the areas affected by the Palisades and Eaton fires rated as High or Very High Risk by the model. The model also captured how property-specific characteristics influenced damage patterns, even within the same fire perimeter, reinforcing the importance of granular, structure-level insights in wildfire risk assessment. Z-FIRE’s data also reveals more than 1.5 million structures in California face a high or very high risk of being within a wildfire perimeter.
With granular, property-specific insights, Z-FIRE allows insurers to move beyond binary “insure or drop” decisions. Instead, they can work with policyholders to reduce vulnerability—whether through defensible space measures, fire-resistant roofing, or other mitigation efforts.
Since its adoption, Z-FIRE has helped insurers confidently write hundreds of thousands of policies that might have otherwise been non-renewed or declined. By incorporating vegetation density, roof materials, and structural characteristics, the model enhances risk segmentation, reduces volatility, and strengthens market stability.
ZestyAI has engaged with the California Department of Insurance (CDI) over the years, including discussions during the early regulatory considerations of Z-FIRE. After an independent actuarial review in 2020, multiple carrier rate and underwriting filings leveraging Z-FIRE have been approved by the CDI. Moreover, ZestyAI participated in seven CDI workshops in 2023-24 and co-hosted a January 2025 webinar on the new regulatory framework.