Harborline Mutual today extended its wildfire mitigation credit to homeowners in Arizona. Members who take specific steps to protect their homes against embers can now lower the price of the company's wildfire endorsement, as California members have been able to since 2019.

The credit applies to the wildfire line of a Harborline home policy. Each of the following earns a part of it:

  • A Class A fire-rated roof.
  • Ember-resistant vents, or vents covered with fine metal mesh.
  • Enclosed eaves.
  • Five feet of noncombustible ground around the house: gravel, pavers or bare soil, with no wood mulch and no plants against the walls.
  • A home in a neighborhood that runs a recognized community wildfire safety program.

Together, the steps can reduce the wildfire line by up to 20 percent. The credit is applied at renewal after a Harborline inspector, or photos the member sends, confirm the features. Most of the features cost little; clearing the five-foot zone is often free.

Most homes that burn in a wildfire are lit by embers, not by the flame front. The things on this list are the ones that stop an ember from finding a way in.

Glen Hostetler, Chief Underwriting Officer

About 23,000 Harborline home policies in Arizona carry the wildfire endorsement, concentrated around Prescott, Flagstaff, Payson and the foothills north of Tucson. Harborline estimates that about a third of those homes already qualify for some part of the credit.

"Arizona members have been asking for this for two years, and they were right to," said Sofia Arredondo, senior vice president for Arizona. "A home in Prescott with a metal roof and a gravel border is a different risk from the same house with a shake roof and juniper under the windows, and the price should say so."

Members can ask their agent or call member service at (619) 555-0120 to arrange an inspection.

About Harborline Mutual

Harborline Mutual Insurance Company is a policyholder-owned insurer founded in San Diego in 1953. It writes auto, home, renters and umbrella insurance in California and Arizona only, with about 317,000 policies in force, through independent agents and directly by phone and online.

Media contact: Harborline communications, (619) 555-0175.