Insurers are fleeing California due to wildfires. But this startup plans to work with the riskiest homes

Stand insures properties that face wildfire risk from climate change—and uses AI modeling to suggest changes so they’re less likely to burn.

As wildfires get bigger and more destructive in California, more insurance companies are pulling out of the state—or sharply limiting the number of policies they’re willing to carry. But a new startup called Stand just launched with a deliberate focus on homes at risk of fire.

Stand is “focused on properties that are exposed to climate-impacted risks,” says CEO and cofounder Dan Preston. The startup will eventually also include homes at risk of flooding and damage from storms. But it’s starting with the challenge of wildfire in a state where more than a million acres burned this year and hundreds of thousands of people have been abandoned by their insurers.