Windward Risk Managers, a US homeowners insurance specialist, has expanded its use of ZestyAI’s risk intelligence platform to support its entry into the California insurance market, deploying the Z-FIRE™ wildfire underwriting tool.
The move builds on an existing relationship between the two companies, with Windward already using ZestyAI’s Z-PROPERTY™ model across its Florida homeowners portfolio. Z-FIRE will now provide property-level wildfire risk assessments as Windward seeks to establish a presence in one of the most challenging catastrophe markets in the country.
Z-FIRE uses computer vision and machine learning to evaluate which properties are most vulnerable to wildfire damage and which are likely to survive a fire event. The model analyses a range of structural and environmental factors, including defensible space, vegetation density, building materials and topography, and has been trained on what ZestyAI describes as the largest wildfire loss dataset in the industry.
The model is approved across Western wildfire markets and was the first AI-based wildfire model to receive approval as part of a carrier rate filing in California. ZestyAI’s full suite of risk models has now obtained more than 200 regulatory approvals across the United States.
ZestyAI’s platform combines property-level data, predictive AI models and agentic AI automation to support underwriting, rating, reinsurance and regulatory workflows. Z-PROPERTY, which Windward uses for its Florida book, applies computer vision and machine learning to aerial imagery, building permit records, tax assessment data and other verified sources, producing insights across more than 70 structural and parcel attributes for 150 million residential and commercial properties nationwide.
Windward Risk Managers chief risk officer Gard Olbers said, “Z-PROPERTY gave us accurate property insights and broad coverage across our Florida portfolio. That experience made ZestyAI a natural partner as we expand into California, where Z-FIRE gives us an accurate, predictive view of wildfire risk as we evaluate and manage exposure.”
ZestyAI founder and CEO Attila Toth said, “Windward Risk Manager’s expansion into California reflects how insurers can use advanced analytics to operate more confidently in wildfire-exposed markets. Windward Risk Managers has been a valued partner for many years, and their continued expansion with ZestyAI reflects the trust insurers place in accurate risk models as they navigate increasingly complex markets.”
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