RockRose Risk Helps McCloud Condominium Cut Insurance Costs by Nearly 69% Through Wildfire Mitigation
RockRose Risk, an insurance brokerage focused on helping property owners reduce insurance costs through wildfire mitigation, has announced the successful renewal of commercial property insurance coverage for McCloud Condominium, the largest homeowners association in North Lake Tahoe, Nevada.
The latest renewal represents the second consecutive year in which McCloud, working with RockRose Risk and local wildfire mitigation partners, has converted ongoing resilience investments into significant insurance savings. The results demonstrate how continued investment in wildfire preparedness, combined with detailed documentation of risk reduction, can influence insurance pricing over multiple policy cycles.
McCloud’s experience reflects the growing challenges facing property owners in wildfire-prone areas. Approximately five years ago, the condominium community paid about $168,000 annually for insurance coverage. As the broader insurance market became increasingly difficult in wildfire-exposed regions, the community’s premiums rose sharply, reaching more than $1.3 million by June 2025.
RockRose Risk helped change that trajectory. During the previous renewal, the brokerage reduced McCloud’s annual premium to approximately $913,000, generating nearly $400,000 in savings while expanding the association’s insurance protection. The policy also added $2.5 million in flood and earthquake coverage.
Following another year of extensive wildfire mitigation work, McCloud has now renewed its coverage for approximately $414,000. The new premium represents a reduction of roughly 69% compared with the community’s June 2025 peak of approximately $1.34 million, translating into savings of about $925,000.
The latest renewal also delivered improvements to the association’s coverage structure. McCloud reduced its wildfire and all-other-perils deductibles to $25,000, down from $250,000 and $100,000, respectively. At the same time, the community doubled its earthquake coverage to $5 million.
The insurance savings followed continued investments in wildfire resilience across the community and surrounding landscape. Mitigation activities included landscape-scale fuels treatment, community-wide defensible-space work and additional property-level hardening.
The North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District led significant defensible-space efforts in partnership with the Tahoe Fund’s Fire Smart Community Pilot and BurnBot. McCloud also invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in parcel-level improvements designed to strengthen individual properties against wildfire exposure.
In addition, the community underwent an onsite Wildfire Hazard Assessment to identify vulnerabilities and document mitigation measures. These efforts gave RockRose Risk detailed information that could be presented to insurers as evidence of the property’s changing risk profile.
Andrew Engler, co-founder and CEO of RockRose Risk, said the McCloud renewal demonstrates that insurance premium reductions can result from measurable improvements in property resilience rather than temporary changes in market conditions.
According to Engler, the community’s continued commitment to wildfire mitigation gave insurers greater confidence in the property’s risk profile. The experience also demonstrated that insurers that had previously declined to quote the property could become interested once documented mitigation provided a clearer picture of the actual exposure.
Historically, commercial properties in wildfire-prone areas have often been evaluated using broad geographic risk models. These models may not fully account for property-specific improvements such as defensible space, vegetation management, fuel reduction and structural hardening.
As a result, property owners that invest heavily in wildfire mitigation may not always see an immediate financial benefit through lower insurance premiums. RockRose Risk’s approach seeks to address this gap by combining detailed property-level information with insurance-market expertise.
For McCloud, RockRose worked with local fire agencies, BurnBot, Wildfire Services Group and other mitigation partners to develop a comprehensive picture of the community’s wildfire risk.
Landscape-scale treatments conducted through the Fire Smart Community Pilot helped reduce wildfire exposure beyond individual properties. At the property level, Wildfire Services Group collected approximately 600 data points documenting structural conditions, hardening measures and other characteristics of the community.
The information was then incorporated into RockRose Risk’s proprietary risk modeling and presented to insurance carriers. This process allowed underwriters to evaluate the community using more detailed information rather than relying solely on broad regional wildfire assumptions.
McCloud also continued investing in additional mitigation during the most recent policy period. Approximately $200,000 was spent on further wildfire resilience improvements, including work identified during the previous insurance cycle.
RockRose Risk documented those improvements and used the updated information to demonstrate continued risk reduction to insurers. The additional evidence contributed to the community’s ability to secure substantially lower premiums during the latest renewal.
Amy Berry, CEO of the Tahoe Fund, said the project demonstrates the potential benefits of proactive wildfire resilience. She emphasized that landscape-scale forest restoration and fuels reduction, combined with mitigation within neighborhoods, can improve forest health, protect communities and potentially rebuild confidence among insurance providers.
Joel Holland, president of Wildfire Services Group, said the company’s Wildfire Hazard Assessment transformed more than 600 field, aerial and photographic data points into a prioritized mitigation plan and evidence package suitable for insurance underwriters.
The McCloud project highlights an emerging model in which wildfire mitigation is treated not only as a safety and resilience investment but also as an important component of insurance strategy. By measuring, documenting and communicating improvements, property owners may be better positioned to demonstrate their changing risk profile to insurers.
RockRose Risk currently manages more than $7 billion in commercial insurable value and reports average premium reductions of 35% across its commercial portfolio. The company has also expanded its mitigation-focused insurance approach into the California homeowners market, applying similar principles to residential properties.
For McCloud Condominium, the latest renewal provides a compelling example of how sustained wildfire preparedness can translate into substantial financial benefits. The community’s experience suggests that continued investment, accurate risk measurement and strong collaboration among property owners, mitigation specialists, fire agencies and insurance professionals can help create a more sustainable approach to insuring wildfire-exposed properties.
As wildfire risk continues to influence insurance markets across the western United States, the McCloud results demonstrate the potential value of moving from generalized risk assessments toward property-specific, evidence-based underwriting. The community’s nearly 69% premium reduction, combined with improved coverage and lower deductibles, underscores the financial impact that verified wildfire resilience can have on long-term insurance costs.
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