Accurate, Detailed Wildfire Database Provides Insurance Industry with Property-level Risk Assessment for the State of Texas

AUSTIN, Texas—December 07, 2009 — First American Spatial Solutions, a member of The First American Corporation (NYSE: FAF) family of companies and a leader in spatial and natural hazard risk solutions, announced today the release of its wildfire database for the state of Texas.

As residential and commercial development in Texas expands into the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI), the threat of property and infrastructure loss due to wildfires increases. First American Spatial Solutions’ Texas Wildfire Database provides the information needed by the insurance industry to identify an individual property's risk vulnerability.

The Texas Wildfire Database takes into account the type of vegetation, topography and historical frequency of burns to generate brushfire risk scores. The data are modeled at a highly granular 30-meter grid level and produce wildfire risk scores ranging from low to very high. The dataset for Texas differs from other states’ datasets in that the historical frequency of burns is used to define characteristics of Texas wildfires, but not burn perimeters. Unlike other states, the Texas brushfire dataset does not identify a temporary reduction in risk for recently burned areas since the primary or secondary vegetation in many of these cases is grass, which tends to return to its pre-burn condition within one year. The Texas Wildfire Database is updated annually to capture changes from the previous wildfire season and to account for expanded urban growth.

“As urban areas in Texas continue to grow, it is important to understand the impact wildfires could potentially have,” said Howard Botts, executive vice president and director of database development at First American Spatial Solutions. “Texas is a major concern for insurance companies, given the prolonged drought and high rate of vegetative growth. Of particular concern are the large areas of the state where the predominant fuel source is grass, which grows back very quickly after it burns.”

Developed at a granular level of detail, using proprietary methodology, First American Spatial Solutions’ databases deliver highly accurate information to assist insurance companies in making decisions. Since First American Spatial Solutions owns and maintains its databases, clients are guaranteed accurate alignment of data layers, up-to-date information and a single point of contact for support.

About First American Spatial Solutions

First American Spatial Solutions, a member of The First American Corporation (NYSE: FAF) family of companies, is a leader in property-location information, analytics and geospatial services. Recognized for their accuracy and currency, the company’s solutions include the industry-leading PxPoint geocoder; multiple natural hazard products for risk management; up-to-date tax and municipal databases; and ParcelPoint, the nation’s largest digital land parcel database. More information can be found at www.faspatial.com.



Contact:

Carrie Gaska
Corporate Communications
The First American Corporation
Tel.:714-250-3298
E-mail: Email Contact