India, Aug 25: Commercial property insurer FM today announced the acquisition of FortressFire, a provider of wildfire intelligence that combines machine learning and physics-based modeling. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
Through a data-driven, science-backed approach to wildfire risk modeling, FortressFire helps protect homes, businesses and communities from wildfire loss. Operating as an independent, wholly owned division of FM, FortressFire’s platform enables insurers and property owners to better understand and manage wildfire risk down to an individual property level. Its wildfire intelligence solutions include aerial wildfire reports, monitoring, analytics, ground inspections and mitigation assessments to provide actionable, structure-specific insights and mitigation recommendations.
“FortressFire shares FM’s core belief in the power of data-driven, location-based risk mitigation and protection measures to help clients better understand and manage wildfire exposure,” said Malcolm Roberts, chairman and chief executive officer of FM. “The FortressFire team brings powerful tools to assess and mitigate wildfire risk, and we are excited to welcome them to the FM family.”
“For years we’ve argued that the best risk management is ignition prevention—and that the path to insurability runs through science,” said Michael Ashker, founder, chairman and chief executive officer of FortressFire. “To have an engineering-focused insurer of FM’s caliber put its capital and conviction behind that thesis is the strongest possible validation of what our team has built.”
Wildfire has long threatened property—but its risk has intensified in many parts of the world in recent years. FortressFire was built to reverse that cycle—quantifying ignition risk through fire physics, prescribing verifiable mitigation recommendations and monitoring properties to keep them protected over time.
The acquisition pairs FortressFire’s structure-specific wildfire intelligence with FM’s long engineering heritage, scientific research capabilities and balance sheet strength. FortressFire will continue to serve insurers, reinsurers, brokers, real estate professionals, lenders and property owners across the market under its own brand and leadership.
