Chartis Enhances its Wildfire Protection Unit® with New Mapping Technology, Expansion into Texas and More Areas of California

Private Client Group Clients in Five Texas Cities, Additional Areas of San Diego, Orange County and California Mountain Resort Communities Gain Access to Wildfire Consulting and High-Tech Monitoring Services

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Chartis today announced enhancements to its Private Client Group division’s pioneering Wildfire Protection Unit, including geographic expansion and improved monitoring technologies. The Unit now is available to clients in the Texas cities of Austin, Dallas, Ft. Worth, Houston and San Antonio, plus more areas within San Diego, Orange County and the mountain resorts of California.

The Wildfire Protection Unit is a complimentary loss mitigation service designed to help at-risk clients preempt avoidable fire damage to their properties. Response areas, defined at a zip code level, already include locations across Northern California, Southern California and Colorado.

Well before an active wildfire develops, Private Client Group clients in these locales can enroll to receive at-home consultations with Chartis’ team of wildfire mitigation specialists. With an emphasis on preparedness and education, the specialists look to identify wildfire hazards around the home and surrounding property, and offer brush management recommendations. If warranted, the specialists also will apply a specially formulated fire retardant around the perimeter of the property. The retardant creates an added layer of protection that can last throughout the wildfire season.

In addition to one-on-one consultations, the Wildfire Protection Unit utilizes a disaster intelligence center powered by RedZone Software to track U.S. wildfire behavior, conditions, direction and changing fire perimeters. Sophisticated mapping technology identifies insured homes in real time as wildfires approach and provides Chartis’ trucks with state-of-the-art fire monitoring capabilities. In the event of an active wildfire within the service response areas, Chartis dispatches its Wildfire Protection Unit. Access permitting and in cooperation with local authorities, trucks equipped with fire retardant will attempt to visit vulnerable homes to bolster their defenses.

Although the Wildfire Protection Unit is not a private fire department, all mitigation specialists are firefighters with an average of five years of wildland fire experience. Unlike other organizations that outsource their services to third-party vendors, Wildfire Protection Unit crew members are Chartis employees, and all trucks and equipment are owned and managed by Chartis. This approach affords greater control to ensure that Private Client Group’s high-quality service standards are upheld.

“Access to homes can be compromised when a wildfire is nearby,” said Dorothy Sarna, Senior Vice President, Risk Management Services for Private Client Group. “Our early mitigation tactics increase the chances that our clients’ properties can successfully withstand these blazes. Additionally, cutting-edge mapping technology enables us to stay ahead of the flames to better protect our enrolled clients who chose to take a proactive approach to safeguard their homes.”

With the Wildfire Protection Unit service expansion, Private Client Group clients residing in the following areas now can enroll to participate:

• Austin, TX:

  Austin (78701, 78703, 78704, 78705, 78712, 78717, 78726, 78727, 78729, 78730, 78731, 78732, 78733, 78734, 78735, 78736, 78737, 78738, 78739, 78746, 78748, 78749, 78750, 78751, 78756, 78757, 78759); Buda (78610); Burnet (78611); Cedar Park (78613, 78630); Dripping Springs (78620); Leander (78641, 78645, 78646); McNeil (78651); Marble Falls (78654, 78657); Spicewood (78669); Wimberley (78676)
• Dallas, TX:

  Allen (75013); Carrollton (75010); Dallas (75209, 75248); Frisco (75034); Little Elm (75068); McKinney (75069, 75070); Plano (75094)

• Fort Worth, TX:

  Argyle (76226); Colleyville (76034); Denton (76208); Flower Mound (75028); Fort Worth (76126); Graford (76449); Grapevine (76092); Lewisville (75067); North Richland Hills (76180); Roanoke (76262); Strawn (76475)

• Houston, TX:

  Conroe (77385); Houston (77070, 77077, 77079, 77094); Katy (77450); Magnolia (77355); Montgomery (77356); Tomball (77375); Spring (77380, 77381, 77389)

• San Antonio, TX:

  Bergheim (78004); Boerne (78015); Macdona (78054); San Antonio (78201, 78207, 78208, 78209, 78212, 78213, 78215, 78216, 78217, 78218, 78219, 78230, 78231, 78232, 78234, 78247, 78248, 78249, 78255, 78256, 78257, 78258, 78259, 78261)

• San Diego, CA:

  Bonsall (92003); Carlsbad (92008, 92009, 92010, 92011); Oceanside (92054, 92055, 92056); San Marcos (92069, 92078); Vista (92012, 92081)

• Mountain Resorts, CA:

  Big Bear City (92314); Big Bear Lake (92315); Blue Jay (92317); Cedar Glen (92321); Lake Arrowhead (92352); San Bernardino (92407)

• Orange County, CA:Tustin (92782)

For a complete listing of Wildfire Protection Unit response areas and more information on the service, please visit: http://www.chartisinsurance.com/pcg/wpu.

About Chartis

Chartis is a world leading property-casualty and general insurance organization serving more than 70 million clients around the world. With one of the industry’s most extensive ranges of products and services, deep claims expertise and excellent financial strength, Chartis enables its commercial and personal insurance clients alike to manage virtually any risk with confidence.

Chartis is the marketing name for the worldwide property-casualty and general insurance operations of Chartis Inc. For additional information, please visit our website at http://www.chartisinsurance.com. All products are written by insurance company subsidiaries or affiliates of Chartis Inc. Coverage may not be available in all jurisdictions and is subject to actual policy language. Non-insurance products and services may be provided by independent third parties. Certain coverage may be provided by a surplus lines insurer. Surplus lines insurers do not generally participate in state guaranty funds and insureds are therefore not protected by such funds.

ChartisSelena Morris, 212-458-6256

Source: Chartis