Bend couple may lose home insurance due to wildfire risk

Fires in California have claimed thousands of homes, and it appears Central Oregonians are also feeling the effects.

A Bend couple’s homeowner insurance is not being renewed because of wildfire risk.

Last week, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. sent a letter to Stacy Purtzer and her husband, who live off Hamby Road in southeast Bend.

The notice of non-renewal said that because of wildfire risk factors, including trees and bushes within 100 feet of the home, it is not eligible for coverage after Dec. 29.

Purtzer said Tuesday she and her husband have paid homeowners insurance through Nationwide for at least five years, and she was shocked to hear their policy would not be renewed.

“This whole entire neighborhood would be treeless, if that’s the ramifications we have to do to keep our insurance. But in Central Oregon, there’s tons of trees,” Purtzer said.

“It’s really disappointing. It just comes down to money. Someone was saying, ‘Nationwide is not on our side’. It’s true.”

NewsChannel 21 contacted Nationwide after talking to Purtzer. Immediately after, Purtzer said Nationwide called her to apologize and said trees within 100 feet of the home would just have to be limbed up to 10 feet off the ground.

“We just need to look into what we can do to keep our house safe but we can’t cut down all the trees. That’s just unrealistic. We moved out to this property for the trees, apple trees. They’re beautiful,” Purtzer said.

She said it’s unlikely she’ll be able to finish limbing trees by the end of the year. And hiring out the job will cost upwards of $5,000.

Without photo evidence of that happening, Purtzer said she will lose her homeowner’s insurance.

Nationwide declined a phone or Skype interview. Instead, the company sent a statement that mentions mitigation efforts taken by a Northern California customer.

The statement reads:

“We employ a process of assessing risk when writing new policies and renewing existing policies. For the past several years, Nationwide has proactively inspected homes to ensure members take appropriate steps to mitigate their property against the risk of wildfires.

“We know these mitigation efforts work. Recently, a member near one of the wildfires in northern California reported that they were able to avoid major damage from the flames after implementing our fire-mitigation tips.

“Per our suggestion, they made sure they had appropriate tree spacing, laddered tree trunks, removal of dead vegetation, bird deterrence of the clay roof tiles, defensible space both directly around the foundation and in the yard, as well as other measures.

“The fire stopped short of the structure thanks to this foresight. While this is only one example – and the results can’t be guaranteed in every situation – it illustrates how effective mitigation efforts can be and why we encourage our members to take these additional actions to protect their property.”

Purtzer also said since she’s made her situation public, she’s been contacted by several other insurance agents offering to help provide coverage.