When Bridget and Steve Snyder’s homeowners insurance policy expired four months ago, their provider refused to renew it because of wildfire risk. Now they’re threatened by the Elk Fire with no insurance — a problem happening across the nation.
Their American dream could literally go up in flames.
Bridget and Steve Snyder bought a little cabin 11 years ago and started a new life together in Story, Wyoming, a small town about 15 miles south of Sheridan.
Not long after, Steve’s mom had a quintuple-bypass heart surgery and his stepdad developed multiple myeloma related to Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam.
“So, we decided instead of buying our own property and building a home, which was our plan, that we’d just build a large addition onto the cabin here,” Steve said. “That way, we could be here to take care of them.”
Steve runs a carpentry business, so he and his wife did most of the work themselves, even going so far as to hand mill their own lumber to save on costs.
Their home is now 3,900 square feet and has enough room for Steve, Bridget and their children, as well as Steve’s mom and dad.
But one thing it doesn’t have right now is homeowner’s insurance.
Four months before the Elk Fire started when it was time to renew their policy, the couple found out that their insurance company was no longer willing to insure them.
Now a 96,000-acre wildfire burning across the face of the Bighorns is threatening their home and others near its path.
The Answer To One Simple Question
Bridget and Steve immediately started searching for a new insurer, but the first question knocked them out each time. It was a simple question, one that’s a yes for almost any homeowner in Story.
“All of the other companies that I talked to asked if there’s a tree within 100 feet of your house,” Bridget said.
The couple’s cabin, built in 1954, sits within 2 feet of a neighbors’ property line, grandfathering it in as far as setbacks go.
That means the old trees that hang over their newly expanded cabin don’t even belong to them.
But because of the trees, almost all of the insurers they talked to wouldn’t even consider insuring their home for any amount of money.
“We had to call our bank, and we are like, nobody is insuring in Story,” Bridget said.
The banker did a little research before getting back to the couple.
“He told us there’s a lot of people up here who have been dropped,” Steve said. “They think that probably 50 to 60% of the people that they finance up here in Story are not going to be able to maintain insurance any longer.”
For sale signs have started popping up in Story, Bridget added.
“Like last year, driving down Fish Hatchery (Road), you maybe saw one or two for sale signs,” she said. “This year, it’s like every other house. People are starting to get priced out, and it’s a lot of people who have been up here for generations.
“They worked their whole life and paid off what they have, but they can no longer afford to live up here because of property taxes and insurance.”
Building their home in Story, Wyoming, was a true family affair for Steve and Bridget Snyder and their young kids. They didn’t just do the work themselves, they did it together, which gives them a deeper connection to their home. (Courtesy Steve and Bridget Snyder)
Building their home in Story, Wyoming, was a true family affair for Steve and Bridget Snyder and their young kids. They didn’t just do the work themselves, they did it together, which gives them a deeper connection to their home. (Courtesy Steve and Bridget Snyder)
Building their home in Story, Wyoming, was a true family affair for Steve and Bridget Snyder and their young kids. They didn’t just do the work themselves, they did it together, which gives them a deeper connection to their home. (Courtesy Steve and Bridget Snyder)
Building their home in Story, Wyoming, was a true family affair for Steve and Bridget Snyder and their young kids. They didn’t just do the work themselves, they did it together, which gives them a deeper connection to their home. (Courtesy Steve and Bridget Snyder)
Building their home in Story, Wyoming, was a true family affair for Steve and Bridget Snyder and their young kids. They didn’t just do the work themselves, they did it together, which gives them a deeper connection to their home. (Courtesy Steve and Bridget Snyder)
Building their home in Story, Wyoming, was a true family affair for Steve and Bridget Snyder and their young kids. They didn’t just do the work themselves, they did it together, which gives them a deeper connection to their home. Even the 2-year-old helped with drywall, left. (Courtesy Steve and Bridget Snyder)
Building their home in Story, Wyoming, was a true family affair for Steve and Bridget Snyder and their young kids. They didn’t just do the work themselves, they did it together, which gives them a deeper connection to their home. (Courtesy Steve and Bridget Snyder)
Building their home in Story, Wyoming, was a true family affair for Steve and Bridget Snyder and their young kids. They didn’t just do the work themselves, they did it together, which gives them a deeper connection to their home. (Courtesy Steve and Bridget Snyder)
Building their home in Story, Wyoming, was a true family affair for Steve and Bridget Snyder and their young kids. They didn’t just do the work themselves, they did it together, which gives them a deeper connection to their home. (Courtesy Steve and Bridget Snyder)
Building their home in Story, Wyoming, was a true family affair for Steve and Bridget Snyder and their young kids. They didn’t just do the work themselves, they did it together, which gives them a deeper connection to their home. (Courtesy Steve and Bridget Snyder)
Building their home in Story, Wyoming, was a true family affair for Steve and Bridget Snyder and their young kids. They didn’t just do the work themselves, they did it together, which gives them a deeper connection to their home. (Courtesy Steve and Bridget Snyder)
Building their home in Story, Wyoming, was a true family affair for Steve and Bridget Snyder and their young kids. They didn’t just do the work themselves, they did it together, which gives them a deeper connection to their home. (Courtesy Steve and Bridget Snyder)
Building their home in Story, Wyoming, was a true family affair for Steve and Bridget Snyder and their young kids. They didn’t just do the work themselves, they did it together, which gives them a deeper connection to their home. (Courtesy Steve and Bridget Snyder)
Building their home in Story, Wyoming, was a true family affair for Steve and Bridget Snyder and their young kids. They didn’t just do the work themselves, they did it together, which gives them a deeper connection to their home. (Courtesy Steve and Bridget Snyder)
Building their home in Story, Wyoming, was a true family affair for Steve and Bridget Snyder and their young kids. They didn’t just do the work themselves, they did it together, which gives them a deeper connection to their home. (Courtesy Steve and Bridget Snyder)
Building their home in Story, Wyoming, was a true family affair for Steve and Bridget Snyder and their young kids. They didn’t just do the work themselves, they did it together, which gives them a deeper connection to their home. (Courtesy Steve and Bridget Snyder
Homeowners Across The State Are Facing Similar Issues
Wyoming Insurance Commissioner Jeff Rude told Cowboy State Daily he’s hearing these kinds of stories from across the state.
“(Insurance companies) can non-renew for whatever reason they want,” he said. “And we know they’re intentionally trying to lessen their risk and get out of certain areas. Whether it’s hail or wind or, in this case, fire, if they are writing policies, they are significantly more expensive.”
Rude said the only advice he can offer is for consumers to keep “shopping around.”
“Our office has no authority over the rates,” he said. “I can’t tell a company how much to charge for their product. But they can shop around, and, what people need to know, is that sometimes agents only write policies for one company. So, if they can talk to another agent who writes policies for multiple companies, that might help them shop around more.”
Rude said Wyoming still has roughly the same number of insurers it’s had in the recent past…
Cowboy State Daily 
