IBHS and How Homes Actually Burn
Who is IBHS?
The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) is an independent nonprofit research organization, funded by insurance companies, that studies how homes, businesses, and communities can reduce damage from severe weather and wildfire. IBHS turns laboratory research, field observations, and building science into practical guidance and voluntary designation programs.
Why we chose to work with IBHS
Before committing to IBHS Wildfire Prepared, the board looked at other options, including the Firewise USA program. We chose IBHS because it is built directly on insurance-industry research and standards, and because insurers such as Mercury already recognize IBHS designations. That link to the insurance industry is the whole point of this effort. It is why we believe IBHS gives Sunset Mesa the clearest path toward restoring broader, more affordable private coverage.
IBHS has two programs of interest:
- Wildfire Prepared Home certifies individual homes.
- Wildfire Prepared Neighborhood certifies an entire existing neighborhood. See Neighborhood & Block Certification.
What a designation does and doesn't do
A home with an IBHS designation is not guaranteed coverage, renewal, or premium savings. Insurer-specific mitigation or underwriting requirements are separate from IBHS. However, a documented IBHS designation is one of the strongest, most portable pieces of evidence you can bring to any insurer, because it is verified by an independent third party rather than self-reported.
Ask your agent or carrier what documentation they accept and whether any mitigation programs, discounts, or underwriting considerations apply to your property.
How homes actually burn: the science
Wildfire risk is not controlled by one feature alone. Roofs, vents, siding, windows, decks, fences, landscaping, accessory structures, and the first 5 feet around the home all work together. If one weak link remains, wildfire can exploit it. Homes are exposed in three ways:
- Wind-driven embers
- Land on or collect near the home: in gutters, vents, mulch beds, under decks, against fences, and at the base of walls.
- Direct flame contact
- Occurs when nearby vegetation, fencing, accessory structures, or neighboring buildings burn close to the home.
- Radiant heat
- From burning vegetation or structures can damage or ignite vulnerable materials even without direct flame contact.
Most homes ignite from wind-blown embers, not from a large wall of flames. Embers can travel more than a mile ahead of a wildfire.
In major wildfire events, firefighting resources may be stretched thin. That is why passive mitigation, meaning work completed before a fire starts, is so important. The most effective approach is to reduce combustible materials near every home and improve vulnerable building features before wildfire arrives.
The Wildfire Prepared Home program
Wildfire Prepared Home is a voluntary, science-based designation program for individual homes. A homeowner completes the required mitigation, applies, submits documentation, and receives a third-party evaluation and IBHS review. If the home meets all applicable requirements, IBHS issues a designation certificate. There are two levels:
Essential
Focuses on reducing vulnerability to ember ignition.
Enhanced
Includes all Essential actions and adds requirements for exposure to flames and radiant heat.
A home must meet all required actions for its level. Partial mitigation still reduces risk, but it does not qualify a home for a designation.
A designation does not guarantee that a home will survive a wildfire. It does provide verified documentation that the home met IBHS requirements at the time of designation and during required maintenance reviews. That documentation is independent evidence that specific vulnerabilities were identified and addressed, and it is yours to share with any insurer, lender, or future buyer for as long as you maintain it.