California wildfire insurance in 2026: FAIR Plan, cancellations, and how to stay covered
Seven of the twelve largest US home insurers have restricted or
withdrawn from California since 2021. FAIR Plan has crossed 400,000
policies. SB 1060 turned mitigation evidence into a discount you can
document. Here is the 2026 picture, and the order of operations.
Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, photo by Christopher Rosario, April 4, 2025 — Pacific Palisades, California after the January 2025 wildfire. Via
Wikimedia Commons
(public domain).
400K+FAIR Plan policies in 2024 — up ~100% vs 2020
7 of 12largest US carriers withdrew or restricted California since 2021
72,000California policies State Farm non-renewed in 2023
SB 1060in force 2025 — carriers must discount verified mitigation
S1 · The market today
What broke California's home insurance market
Seven of the twelve largest US home insurers have either withdrawn from California or restricted new business since 2021. State Farm non-renewed roughly 72,000 California policies in 2023; Allstate, Farmers, and AIG imposed similar restrictions. The exits are not anecdotal — they are concentrated in fire-exposed ZIPs from Los Angeles County north through the Sierra foothills.
California FAIR Plan, the state's insurer of last resort, surpassed 400,000 policies in 2024 — roughly 100% growth versus 2020, and approximately 20× the population the plan was designed to carry. It is now a primary product for hundreds of thousands of California homeowners, not the rare backstop it was built to be.
The 2025 Palisades and Eaton fires destroyed more than 18,000 structures in Los Angeles County and accelerated every line of the chart above. SB 1060, in force since 2025, is the regulatory response: it requires carriers to offer premium discounts for verified mitigation, converting a wildfire risk report from a discretionary purchase into a documented financial instrument.
Sources: California Department of Insurance (CDI) Annual Reports · FAIR Plan Annual Report · SB 1060 text.
S2 · Underwriting
How carriers actually look at your California property
Carriers do not underwrite the address; they underwrite the risk model behind it. The CAL FIRE Fire Hazard Severity Zone (FHSZ) classification is the regulator-trusted backbone — Moderate, High, or Very High — and most California carriers reuse it as a base layer. But that is a ZIP-level signal, and it leaves the carrier guessing about the parcel itself.
The structural change in the market is that carriers are willing to look at property-level evidence — defensible space, home hardening, vegetation density, slope, and Wildland-Urban Interface position — when it arrives in a format they can verify. A property in a high-FHSZ ZIP with documented Zone 0 compliance and Class A roofing is a different underwriting decision than the parcel next door without that record.
This is the gap that a property-level risk report fills: it gives the carrier the same view a fire inspector would form, in a format their underwriting team will accept.
Sources: CAL FIRE FHSZ Viewer · CDI underwriting guidance · NAIC market conduct examinations.
S3 · Your three real options
FAIR Plan, surplus lines, or a carrier — what each one really gives you
Admitted carrier. The cheapest path when available, with the strongest consumer protections under California Insurance Code. Coverage is broad (HO-3 form), claims are backed by the California Insurance Guarantee Association, and rate filings are reviewed by CDI. The catch: in High and Very High FHSZ, admitted carriers are now selective — and property-level evidence often moves you from a decline to an accept.
California FAIR Plan. Statewide availability, but a fire-only policy with defined dwelling and contents limits. Homeowners typically pair a FAIR Plan dwelling policy with a separate Difference in Conditions (DIC) wrap to cover theft, liability, and water. Cost is meaningfully higher than admitted-market equivalents, and FAIR Plan limits cap out below the replacement cost of many California homes.
Surplus lines. Non-admitted carriers (Lloyd's, Scottsdale, Lexington, etc.) write where admitted carriers will not. Premiums are typically the highest of the three, the policy is not backed by CIGA, and forms vary. Surplus lines are usually accessed through a wholesale broker, not directly.
If a carrier-accepted risk report moves you from FAIR Plan to admitted-market eligibility, the annual premium delta typically exceeds the cost of the mitigation work in year one.
Sources: CDI: FAIR Plan Annual Report 2024 · NAIC surplus lines market data · CIGA coverage rules.
S4 · SB 1060
The mitigation discount path — what SB 1060 actually requires
SB 1060 (effective 2025) requires admitted California carriers to offer premium discounts to homeowners who complete and document specific wildfire mitigation actions. The required actions track CAL FIRE's defensible-space framework (Zones 0, 1, 2) and the home-hardening categories in CBC Chapter 7A — roofing, vents, eaves, decks, and ember-resistant openings.
The mechanism the law sets up is documentation-based: the homeowner shows the carrier evidence of compliant mitigation, the carrier applies the discount at the next renewal. Where homeowners fall out of the path is on the evidence side — photos taken on a phone are not what an underwriter accepts; a structured report tied to the parcel and the specific mitigation categories is.
A Satelife report is built to slot into this workflow: it identifies the mitigation actions that move the carrier's risk model on your specific property, and it produces the PDF the carrier needs to apply the SB 1060 discount.
If your California home insurance is non-renewed, here is the order of operations
1 · Read the notice. California carriers must give 75 days written notice of non-renewal in most cases. The notice will state the reason — confirm it is fire-related and not a different underwriting trigger, because the response path differs.
2 · File an appeal if the rationale is shaky. CDI's Consumer Hotline (1-800-927-4357) routes appeals and complaints. Appeals don't restore coverage on their own, but they document the dispute and sometimes change the carrier's decision.
3 · Stand up FAIR Plan + DIC as a bridge. Do not let coverage lapse — mortgages typically force-place expensive coverage if the policy gap exceeds 30 days. FAIR Plan + a DIC wrap is the standard interim.
4 · Run a mitigation plan and re-shop. Once a Satelife report documents Zone 0/1/2 compliance and the specific home-hardening categories on your property, take it to an independent broker. Admitted carriers re-quote on documented properties more often than the headlines suggest.
Frequently asked questions about California wildfire insurance
Can I get home insurance in a California fire zone in 2026?
Yes. The path depends on FHSZ tier and what you can document about the property. Admitted carriers are writing in High and Very High zones when property-level mitigation is verified; FAIR Plan + a DIC wrap is the statewide fallback; surplus lines fill the gap where admitted carriers and FAIR Plan limits both fall short.
What does California FAIR Plan cover in 2026?
FAIR Plan is a fire-only dwelling policy with defined limits. It does not cover theft, liability, water damage, or personal property by default — homeowners pair it with a separate Difference in Conditions (DIC) policy to fill those gaps. Dwelling limits cap below the replacement cost of many California homes, so DIC pairing is almost always necessary.
Why was my California home insurance non-renewed?
Most fire-driven non-renewals in 2023–2025 trace to a small number of model-level decisions: high FHSZ classification combined with ZIP-level loss ratios. Because the trigger is the model rather than your individual property, documented property-level mitigation is often what unlocks renewal or admitted-market re-quote.
How do I qualify for the SB 1060 wildfire mitigation discount?
Complete the mitigation actions the law specifies (defensible space Zones 0/1/2 and home-hardening categories in CBC Chapter 7A), then provide the carrier with documented evidence tied to your specific parcel. A Satelife report produces the PDF carriers need to apply the discount at renewal.
Are surplus lines insurers a real alternative in California?
Yes, when admitted carriers and FAIR Plan limits both come up short. Surplus lines write where admitted carriers will not — but they are typically the most expensive option, the policy is not backed by the California Insurance Guarantee Association, and access is usually through a wholesale broker rather than a retail agent.
Get a carrier-ready wildfire risk report
PDF + property-level risk score + the specific mitigation actions that
move your carrier's risk model. Structured to slot into the SB 1060
discount workflow.
