Risk Theory, a vertically integrated specialty insurance platform, has selected ZestyAI’s Z-FIRE model to assess wildfire risk for Jupiter Platinum Home, a newly launched excess and surplus (E&S) homeowners programme targeting high-value properties in California.
The programme is designed for homes that can be difficult to place through the admitted insurance market or existing E&S products, particularly properties exposed to elevated wildfire risk. Jupiter Platinum Home accepts homes with dwelling limits of at least $750,000 and total insured values of up to $25m.
Risk Theory will use Z-FIRE to assess wildfire exposure at an individual property level, giving underwriters more detailed information to support risk selection and pricing decisions.
The launch comes as California’s homeowners insurance market continues to face challenges around wildfire exposure, with some property owners struggling to secure coverage or facing non-renewals as insurers reassess their exposure.
Traditional wildfire risk assessments can rely heavily on broader geographic or territorial measures, potentially making it difficult to distinguish between properties within the same area. Z-FIRE instead uses machine learning to assess factors including a property’s defensible space, surrounding vegetation, terrain, construction materials and local fire behaviour.
The model combines hazard and vulnerability factors to provide an assessment of the potential wildfire risk associated with an individual property.
Risk Theory operates a group of managing general agents providing distribution, underwriting, claims, analytics and compliance services across specialty insurance markets. The company focuses on developing insurance businesses around areas where it sees opportunities to differentiate through underwriting and technology.
ZestyAI provides risk decision technology for property and casualty insurers, reinsurers, brokers and regulators across the US. Its platform combines property-level data and predictive AI, with models covering perils including wildfire, severe convective storms and non-weather water.
Z-FIRE has been approved in every Western wildfire market and was the first AI-driven wildfire model accepted within a carrier rate filing in California. ZestyAI said its wider portfolio of models has received more than 200 regulatory approvals in the US.
Jessica Furrow-Young, executive vice president of underwriting at Risk Theory said “Jupiter Platinum Home was built for risks that are increasingly difficult to place in California, including homes with elevated wildfire exposure.”
“For us, that means understanding the differences between individual properties rather than treating wildfire exposure as a simple yes-or-no decision,” she added.
Furrow-Young said Z-FIRE provides underwriters with insight into both the hazard surrounding a home and the characteristics that could influence how an individual structure performs, helping Risk Theory deploy capacity across difficult-to-place risks.
Attila Toth, founder and CEO of ZestyAI, said expanding insurance capacity in California requires insurers to differentiate between risks rather than simply taking on properties that the traditional market has moved away from.
“Risk Theory built property-level risk selection into its underwriting approach from the outset,” he said. “That level of insight can help insurers approach even challenging wildfire exposures with greater confidence and discipline.”
The use of property-level AI reflects a broader shift in how insurers are assessing catastrophe exposure, as carriers and specialty providers look for more granular data to support underwriting decisions in markets facing increasing climate-related risk.
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