The Hamilton Fire burned 83 acres in June and threatened downtown Winthrop before it was contained. Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer will be in Winthrop Monday (Oct. 19) to tour the Hamilton burn scar and discuss wildfire risk at a public forum in the Winthrop Barn.
Homeowners see increase in cancellations
More Methow Valley residents are losing their homeowners insurance in the face of increasing wildfire threat.
Patty Kuderer, the state’s top insurance official, will be in Winthrop on Monday (Oct. 19) to discuss the growing trend of policy cancellations and nonrenewals, and what property owners might do about it.
Residents can harden their homes against wildfire by applying Firewise principles — using fire-resistant building materials and keeping vegetation and other combustibles away from structures. But it’s unclear whether these measures improve a property owner’s standing in the eyes of the insurance providers.
“People will get nonrenewal notices and ask, ‘what can I do to improve my home?’ For the most part, people aren’t able to get a solid answer form their insurance company,” said Aaron VanTuyl, the communications and media manager for the Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC). “Wildfire risk assessment scores are not public information.”
That may change as early as next year. Insurance Commissioner Kuderer supports a pair of bills that will come before the state Legislature in January that would provide transparency on risk assessment scores, prohibit insurers from denying homeowners who have hardened their homes, and even provide grants so people can make their homes more fire resilient.
The two bills passed the state Senate with bipartisan support in most recent session but died in a House committee.
“The commissioner is confident those bills will fare a little better this year, especially with wildfire being such an important issue right now,” VanTuyl said.
The rising cost of fire
The Hamilton Fire in June was contained before it reached structures in downtown Winthrop, and overall the Methow was spared this year from serious fire damage. But statewide, 2026 was the costliest year for insurance companies in history, according to a September report in the trade publication Insurance Journal.
According to OIC figures cited in the report, insured losses were an estimated $600 million, although that number has been revised upward since. Most of the losses resulted from the Spokane Complex Fire, which burned more than 800 buildings.
Insurers have responded to the increasing risk by canceling homeowners’ policies. The number of Methow Valley policies canceled by the insurance company increased sixfold from 2023 to 2025, from 11 to 67, according to data provided by the OIC.
Kuderer will address this issue as part of a town hall-style panel that starts at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Winthrop Barn. She’ll be joined on the panel by Winthrop Mayor Robert Grim and Twisp Mayor Hans Smith. Attendees will have an opportunity to speak individually with public officials after the panel concludes.
Prior to the forum, at 4 p.m. Monday, members of the OIC’s Consumer Outreach and Disaster Response Team will be available at the Winthrop Library to answer questions from the public about all types of insurance, including, property, auto, and Medicare or Medicaid.
The public is also invited to a tour with Kuderer of the Hamilton Fire burn scar. Meet at 8 a.m. Monday at the Winthrop Visitor Information Center, 49 Highway 20.
