New Wildfire Insurance Program Launched For Art Collectors

Tom Burroughes

27 June 2025

FortressFire®, a US wildfire analytics and property-specific protection service provider, has launched an insurance program aimed at collectors of fine art.

This new program plays to a need – as explored here – for art owners to manage risks to their works. The devastating fires in California in early 2025 have demonstrated what is at stake. In southern California, fires came close to destroying the Getty Villa, part of the J Paul Getty Museum complex, for example.

The offering – the Fine Art and Collections Wildfire Insurance Program – is being rolled out in partnership with BMS Group and EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants.

The program targets collections valued between $5 million and $250 million. It is “particularly suited” for clients who have been declined or underserved by traditional homeowners’ insurers due to wildfire risk, FortressFire said in a statement this week.

Features of the program include data-driven risk evaluation to concierge mitigation planning, onsite inspection and year-round property monitoring.

“Wildfire risk has become a defining concern for owners of irreplaceable private collections,” Michael Ashker, chairman and CEO at FortressFire, said. “This program is a first-of-its-kind collaboration that blends science, service and insurance innovation to protect not just property – but legacy and peace of mind.”

The insurance coverage is arranged via BMS Group and distributed by EPIC. The program is powered by FortressFire’s proprietary fire physics models and its platform, which generates structure-level wildfire vulnerability reports, prescribes mitigation actions and monitors properties to maintain as-underwritten conditions throughout the policy term.

The program includes a Monitoring + Protection Plan subscription, with seasonal service visits, extreme weather-triggered inspections and wildfire event response options.

“In the wake of this year’s devastating LA wildfires, it’s clearer than ever that the insurance industry must evolve to meet a new era of climate-driven risk,” Nick Trowbridge, marine and fine art lead, facultative practice at BMS Group, said.