Chartis Enhances, Expands Private Client Group’s Wildfire Protection Unit

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Chartis has enhanced its Private Client Group division’s 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 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. 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 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, 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, Texas:

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, Texas:

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

Fort Worth, Texas:

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, Texas:

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

San Antonio, Texas:

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)