Want to act like a rich person? Get personalized fire protection

An article in today's L.A. Times describes how some well-to-do homeowners got concierge-level protection during the recent wildfires.

As subscribers to AIG insurance company's Private Client Group protection, some of these homeowners were the happy recipients of fire-retardant foam sprayed over their multimillion-dollar homes and properties. But these folks didn't have to worry about shortages in municipal fire trucks, personnel or planes. This was a private company's Wildfire Protection Unit serving select private clients. Hey, I want it.

AIG's wildfire protection service is available only in certain "response zones" in California and Colorado. To see if your house is in a lucky location, click here.

Or, you can opt for an on-site portable retardant-dispensing unit from Wildfire Protection Systems. The company lists the local distributor as Extreme Fire Protection Inc. in Simi Valley.

You can get a stationary canister of fire retardant attached to nozzles on your roof or eaves, and the system can be designed to react to the presence of smoke. Or a portable 25-gallon system could be mounted onto a pickup, ATV, wagon or just placed in an easily accessible area so you could spray your property's perimeter. It is powered by 110V AC or 12V DC, and the latter would be important should the power lines go down. Each system comes with a 5-gallon container of a concentrated form of Phos-Chek retardant, which, when mixed with water, gives you 25 gallons of wildfire retardant. And 25 gallons of Phos-Chek will cover more than 800 square feet, or a line of treatment 10 feet wide by 80 feet long. According to the article in The Times, systems like this cost thousands of dollars, or the retardant alone can be had for about $1,000.

And by the way, Phos-Chek, the fire retardant mentioned above (the same stuff you see shooting out of fire-fighting airplanes), is manufactured right here in Ontario.

Comments

[sheila]

i read that article, too, and for once, i was impressed at a business practice. this system is a total, unequivocal win/win. the question is: why isn't this a "value add" to every homeowners' policy? you can add earthquake for $1,000 or whatever, you can step-up to "replacement value," you can add coverage for expensive home contents, so why can't you subscribe to this type of service if your home is not the type that your insurer will automatically be desperate to save but you are? this seems especially important in more rural areas.

i think it's high time the insurance business take a hard look at how to minimize losses and put its money where its mouth is, and this is a great example. insurance should be more than a banking scheme - it should be a partner in making sure our health and possessions are safeguarded. it's not unlike having insurance cover smoking cessation or obesity treatments - it saves everybody money AND may save lives/homes.

the guys treating these houses are all certified firefighters, too, so it is safer and more effective for them to do the job than to have panicky residents messing around when they should be evacuating. ..