By Erica Wirtala, Public Affairs Director, Northwest Montana Association of REALTORS®

Realtors, lenders and community members met recently to hear the Montana State Auditor, James Brown, speak to the conundrum of wildfire insurance. As homeowners are finding out, their premiums are rising, some to an un-attainable level, while others are being cut from getting wildfire insurance at all. Realtors are finding that existing homes may have wildfire insurance, but when the home sells, the new owners cannot retain that same policy. And lenders are concerned because without insurance, they cannot provide a mortgage to a new homeowner or as premium costs rise, they lose potential homeowners as the debt to income ratio gets skewed in the wrong direction.

As conversations deepened, the not-so-obvious factors that impact a Montanan’s premium came to light … the high payouts that have occurred because of hurricanes and floods in other states, as well as the hail, roof and wind damage costs on the eastern side of our state are altering the premium to profit ratios that allow insurance companies abilities to stay in business. The reliance on water and keeping a defensible space green conflicts with the dwindling water supply in the state and the ability to obtain water rights that are robust enough to accommodate some irrigation. Finally, state and federal forest management policies were discussed- can our government do a better job of trying to stave off massive fires?

The office of the State Auditor is proposing legislation to help mitigate the costs for the homeowner and also make it more palatable for insurance companies to come to Montana and/or stay in Montana to do business. One idea is to let homeowners create a catastrophe fund of their own that would have some tax incentives to do so. Another idea is to create financial incentives/grants or premium discounts available for homeowners to harden their homes against potential fire and wind damage.

Insurance is a necessary expense that no one likes to pay for, until something dire happens and then we’re making the frantic calls to our agent, looking for compensation. If we’re lucky, we never have to make those calls, but I know I sleep better at night knowing that my biggest investment, my home, is financially protected, so I hope that everyone in Montana can do that as well.

This column originally appeared in At Home magazine on October 18, 2026.