What Does a Wildfire Risk Group Score Level 1 Mean?
Level 1 means your property has the lowest wildfire risk on the insurer's scale, so it's not why you were dropped.
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If your score is low, look elsewhere for the reason
A Level 1 score puts your property at the bottom of the wildfire risk scale. The insurer's own data says fire isn't the threat behind the letter you got. So the non-renewal came from something else on file. It could be a claims history with more than one loss, an aging roof, outdated wiring, or the insurer deciding to write fewer policies in your area regardless of individual risk. The notice itself may not spell out which one it was, but state law usually requires a reason be given or made available on request. Check the letter for a stated cause, and if there isn't one, ask the insurer directly. Knowing the real reason matters because it changes what you shop for next. A low wildfire score works in your favor when you apply elsewhere.
A low wildfire score is a point in your favor
Level 1 means other insurers will see the same thing yours did. That makes you a stronger applicant elsewhere, even after a non-renewal. Compare quotes to find one that prices your risk correctly.
How is a wildfire risk score calculated
Insurers that use these scores don't just look at whether a fire has happened nearby. They pull in things like the vegetation around the property, the slope of the land, how close the nearest fire department and hydrant are, local weather patterns, and the building materials used on the house itself. A wood roof in a dry canyon scores differently than a stucco house on a flat, irrigated lot even if they sit a few miles apart. That's why two neighbors can end up with different scores, and why your Level 1 reflects your specific property, not just the general area.
The score usually comes from a third-party data provider, not the insurer itself. Several companies build these models and sell the results to insurers, who then use them alongside their own underwriting rules. That means the same house could get a slightly different score depending on which model an insurer uses. If you're curious about the exact factors behind your number, the notice or your agent may be able to tell you which provider the insurer used, though the underlying formula is usually proprietary and not something you can see in full.
A Level 1 score isn't permanent. These models get rerun periodically, sometimes yearly, sometimes after major wildfire seasons when providers update their data. Clearing brush, replacing a roof, or other improvements can lower your risk level over time, but so can changes that have nothing to do with your property, like a new wildfire burning in your region or the model itself being recalibrated. A score that's Level 1 today is a snapshot, not a guarantee for every renewal going forward.
None of this changes what matters for your situation now. The score tells you wildfire wasn't the reason behind your letter, and it tells any new insurer the same thing. When you compare coverage, that's useful context, but it's the stated reason for the non-renewal that should guide what you fix or explain on a new application.
Why didn't my low score stop the non-renewal
A wildfire risk score only measures one kind of risk. Insurers underwrite a policy against dozens of factors at once, and fire is just one line item on that list. Claims history, roof condition, plumbing age, local weather losses, and the insurer's own appetite for new business in your state all sit on separate ledgers. A property can score at the bottom for wildfire and still get flagged for almost everything else, because the two scores don't talk to each other.
A low wildfire score doesn't buy leniency on other fronts either. If your roof is old enough to be a leak risk, no wildfire model changes that math. If you've filed two water damage claims in three years, that pattern reads as a liability no matter how dry or green your lot is. Insurers price and renew policies based on the combination of risks, not the best one on the sheet. A single strong number doesn't cancel out a weak one elsewhere.
Some homeowners assume a non-renewal in a wildfire-prone state must be about fire, since that's the risk making headlines in their area. That assumption costs time. Spend a few weeks clearing brush, swapping out vents, and installing a fire-resistant roof, and none of that touches a non-renewal that was actually about claims frequency or a 25-year-old electrical panel. The fix has to match the real reason. Reading the letter closely or calling to ask matters more than guessing from the regional risk everyone's talking about.
Where the score does help is on the next application. A new insurer running the same property through its own model will likely land on a similar result, low wildfire exposure, and that removes one objection before it's even raised. Pair that with fixing whatever the actual reason was, a new roof, a cleaner claims history, updated wiring, and the application tells a different story than the one that led to the non-renewal.
Check the letter again before you shop
Find the stated reason for the non-renewal, not the wildfire score. That's what a new insurer will underwrite against, so fix or explain it before comparing quotes.
