A study of the January 2026 Victorian bushfires has found the individual characteristics of a property can affect its vulnerability. 

Nearmap analysed more than 36,000 buildings affected by the fires, using imagery from before and after the events and a bushfire vulnerability score to compare how they fared.

It found proximity to a fire front alone did not determine the outcome. The homes that survived despite being close to a destroyed building had more cleared ground around them. 

Nearmap CEO Andy Watt says that among properties close to the fire front, 6.6% of those rated most vulnerable were destroyed or badly damaged, compared with 1.8% of those rated least vulnerable.  

He says broad hazard assessments can identify where bushfire risk is elevated, but they may not show which individual properties are most vulnerable. 

Property-level intelligence can help insurers make more informed decisions across underwriting, prevention and claims. 

“When insurers can see property condition, vegetation and defensible space at scale, they can move from a broad view of hazard to a much more precise understanding of where vulnerability is concentrated.”