California renewal and nonrenewal checklist.

If you received a renewal

Compare the new premium, dwelling limit, deductibles, endorsements, and wildfire-related terms. Ask your insurer or agent what changed and whether mitigation information is reflected correctly.

Start by looking at the annual premium as a single number. If you pay through mortgage escrow, your monthly payment might also include property tax adjustments and shortage catch-ups, which can obscure how much of the change is purely insurance. Pull the declarations page and read the total annual premium line directly.

Then compare the Coverage A (dwelling) limit year over year. Many California insurers apply an automatic inflation adjustment — sometimes 6 to 10 percent annually — to keep up with rising construction costs. If your dwelling limit jumped significantly, that alone can drive a large premium increase independent of any rate change. Confirm the new limit is reasonable for your home's rebuild cost, not just accept it automatically.

Check whether any new endorsements appeared or any existing endorsements were removed. Wildfire-related endorsements, such as extended replacement cost riders or brush exclusions, are particularly worth reviewing. California insurers have added or modified wildfire exclusions and conditions in recent years, so something that was covered before may now have a new restriction. If anything is unclear, ask your agent to walk through each change in writing before you pay the renewal premium.

If you received a nonrenewal

Do not wait until the last week to search. The California Department of Insurance provides residential insurance information and disaster-related guidance, including steps for homeowners having difficulty finding coverage.

California law requires insurers to give homeowners at least 75 days notice before a nonrenewal takes effect. Use that time to begin shopping immediately. Contact an independent insurance agent who represents multiple carriers, because some insurers that have stopped writing new policies in California's high-risk areas are still renewing existing customers through different channels.

If you cannot find comparable coverage in the standard market, the California FAIR Plan is the state's insurer of last resort. It provides basic fire coverage, but does not include liability, theft, water damage, or most other standard protections. Most homeowners who use the FAIR Plan also purchase a separate Difference in Conditions (DIC) policy to fill in those gaps — see the FAIR Plan section below for details.

Keep a record of every insurer you contact and their response. California law allows a homeowner who has been nonrenewed to request the specific reasons in writing. If the nonrenewal appears to be connected to a nearby wildfire or declared state of emergency, review the moratorium rules described in the section below before assuming it is final.

Compare carefully

California policies may differ in replacement-cost terms, wildfire risk treatment, deductibles, personal property limits, and loss-of-use coverage. Compare the declarations pages and ask whether any quote changes your coverage materially.

When comparing quotes, go beyond the total premium and look at what each policy would actually pay after a total loss. Replacement cost coverage on the dwelling will pay to rebuild at current prices; actual cash value coverage subtracts depreciation and may leave a gap. Some policies offer extended replacement cost (for example, 150 percent of the Coverage A limit) which provides a cushion if rebuild costs exceed the stated limit — this can be especially valuable in California's high-cost construction environment.

Also compare loss-of-use coverage, which pays for temporary housing if your home becomes uninhabitable after a covered loss. Some policies cap this at a flat dollar amount; others tie it to a percentage of Coverage A. After major California wildfires, homeowners have spent years in temporary housing, so the loss-of-use limit matters more than many people realize until they need it.

Deductibles can vary widely. Some California policies include a separate wildfire deductible expressed as a percentage of the dwelling limit rather than a flat amount. On a $600,000 home, a 2 percent wildfire deductible means $12,000 comes out of pocket before the policy pays. Confirm whether any separate peril-based deductibles apply and convert percentages to dollar amounts for a clear comparison.

Official California resources

• California DOI home and residential insurance
• California DOI compare insurance premiums
• California DOI disaster insurance guidebook

Contribute to the tracker

California homeowners can add an anonymous renewal change. The tracker records only state, renewal month, and two annual premium totals.

Submitting takes about 30 seconds. The data helps show trends across California counties so that other homeowners can see whether their renewal increase is typical or an outlier. No address, ZIP code, insurer name, or personal information is collected.

California-specific items to check

• Wildfire score: many insurers assign a property-level wildfire risk score that affects price and renewal.
• Mitigation discounts: under the state's Safer from Wildfires framework, insurers must recognize qualifying mitigation such as defensible space and home hardening.
• Moratorium: California Insurance Code §675.1 bars nonrenewal for one year after a declared wildfire emergency for homes in or next to the burn area.
• Last resort: the FAIR Plan provides a basic fire policy, often paired with a separate wrap policy for liability and water.
• Rate rules: under Proposition 103 the Department of Insurance must approve homeowner rates.

Beyond those bullet points, check whether your policy includes any changes to mold, water backup, or service-line coverage — these are commonly removed or capped at renewal in California without prominent disclosure. If you have solar panels, a pool, or a secondary structure such as a guesthouse, confirm those are still covered and at what limit. Secondary structures in fire-prone areas have sometimes been excluded or limited in recent years.

Liability coverage should also be reviewed. Standard homeowners policies include liability coverage (Coverage E) typically starting at $100,000 but often recommended at $300,000 or more. If an umbrella policy sits above your homeowners policy, confirm the umbrella's underlying requirement still matches what your renewed homeowners policy provides.

If you receive a nonrenewal after a nearby fire

Before accepting it, check whether your ZIP code is on the Department of Insurance moratorium list for that fire. If it is, the insurer generally cannot nonrenew you for a year, and you can contact the Department if you believe the protection applies.

Use the time to harden the home and document it. California's Safer from Wildfires program outlines specific hardening steps — ember-resistant vents, Class A roofing materials, tempered glass windows, noncombustible decking — and insurers are required to offer a discount if you complete qualifying steps. Photograph every improvement and keep receipts.

If the moratorium applies and the insurer attempted to nonrenew anyway, file a complaint with the Department of Insurance. The DOI has enforcement authority in these situations. See the California renewal tracker and California nonrenewal help for the official resources.

How California Proposition 103 affects rates

Under Proposition 103, passed by California voters in 1988, homeowners insurance rates must be approved by the Department of Insurance before they take effect. This is different from most states, where insurers can file rates and use them immediately. In California, the DOI reviews each rate filing and has the authority to approve, modify, or reject it. This prior-approval requirement gives California consumers more oversight of rate increases than exists almost anywhere else in the country.

Because of this structure, large rate increases do not happen overnight. When an insurer requests a significant increase, there is typically a public comment period, and consumer groups can intervene and request a formal hearing. The DOI can order refunds if it finds that approved rates were excessive. This has historically kept California homeowners insurance prices lower than they might otherwise be in wildfire-exposed areas, but it has also created friction for insurers trying to price risk in real time.

As of 2024 and continuing into 2025-2026, the DOI has been implementing regulatory modernization changes as part of the Sustainable Insurance Strategy. One significant change allows insurers to use catastrophe models — complex computer simulations of wildfire and other disaster scenarios — as part of their rate filings. Previously, California did not allow forward-looking catastrophe models; rates had to be based on historical loss data. The shift toward allowing catastrophe modeling is expected to result in more approved rate increases going forward, as insurers can now demonstrate expected future loss costs rather than only past costs.

Policyholders and consumer organizations retain the right to participate in rate hearing proceedings. If an insurer requests a rate increase that seems unusually large, consumer advocates can intervene in the proceeding, examine the insurer's actuarial justifications, and present counter-arguments. The Consumer Watchdog organization and the California Department of Insurance itself both maintain information about pending rate proceedings that members of the public can monitor.

California FAIR Plan: what it covers and what it does not

The California FAIR Plan Association is the state's insurer of last resort. It was created under California Insurance Code to ensure that property owners in high-risk areas can obtain at least basic property insurance when the standard market declines to cover them. As wildfire risk has grown, the FAIR Plan has seen a significant increase in the number of California homeowners it covers.

The FAIR Plan provides what is sometimes called FLEX coverage: fire, lightning, internal explosion, and smoke. These are the core perils that a standard policy would cover, but the FAIR Plan does not include most of what makes a standard homeowners policy comprehensive. There is no liability coverage, no theft coverage, no water damage coverage (such as from a burst pipe or appliance leak), and no vandalism coverage under a basic FAIR Plan policy. For many homeowners, these excluded coverages are among the most commonly claimed, so the FAIR Plan alone leaves significant gaps.

To address those gaps, many homeowners who use the FAIR Plan also purchase a Difference in Conditions (DIC) policy from the standard or surplus lines market. A DIC policy is designed to wrap around the FAIR Plan and provide the coverages the FAIR Plan does not. Together, a FAIR Plan policy and a DIC policy can approximate the coverage of a standard homeowners policy, though the combined cost is often higher than a single standard policy was before. When comparing total cost, add the FAIR Plan premium and the DIC premium together.

To apply for a FAIR Plan policy, homeowners can contact the FAIR Plan directly or work with a licensed California insurance agent. The FAIR Plan will inspect the property before issuing coverage. Inspections focus on the physical condition of the home and the presence of brush or fire hazards within a certain distance. If the property does not meet FAIR Plan standards, the homeowner may need to clear brush or make repairs before coverage is issued. FAIR Plan premiums have risen substantially in recent years as the pool of covered properties has grown and wildfire losses have increased — comparing the FAIR Plan plus DIC cost against any standard or surplus lines options still available to you remains worthwhile.

Wildfire risk scores and what they mean

Most major homeowners insurers in California use third-party wildfire risk scoring models to assess risk at the individual property level. Companies such as CoreLogic, Verisk, and Zesty.ai provide these scores based on factors including proximity to wildland vegetation, slope and terrain, local weather patterns, historical fire perimeters, and characteristics of the home and neighborhood. A high wildfire risk score can result in a nonrenewal, a coverage restriction, or a premium surcharge on an existing policy.

California law gives homeowners some rights related to these scores. If an insurer declines to renew your policy, you can request information about the reasons, and if a wildfire risk score was a factor you generally have the right to know which score was used. Homeowners can contact the scoring company directly to understand how their score was calculated and, in some cases, to request a re-assessment based on documented improvements to the property.

High Fire Hazard Severity Zones (FHSZ) are officially mapped by CAL FIRE, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The FHSZ map divides areas into Moderate, High, and Very High zones based on fuel, slope, fire weather, and ember production. Being inside a Very High FHSZ can affect both your wildfire risk score from third-party providers and your eligibility for state-level protections. You can look up your parcel on the CAL FIRE FHSZ viewer online using your address.

The state's Safer from Wildfires program links specific home hardening actions to potential insurer recognition. Under California regulations, insurers are required to offer a discount to homeowners who have completed certain documented hardening steps — including things like installing Class A roofing, ember-resistant vents, and maintaining defensible space. If you have completed hardening steps and your insurer has not reflected them in your premium, contact the insurer and request a re-assessment with documentation. This step alone has helped some California homeowners reduce premiums or avoid nonrenewals.

What to do if your California insurer exits the market

Several major homeowners insurance carriers have announced they will not renew or write new policies in California, or have significantly reduced the areas in which they operate. When a major insurer exits, the effect can ripple through neighborhoods as many homeowners lose coverage at similar times, creating high demand for a smaller pool of remaining carriers. Acting quickly gives you more options.

Start shopping as soon as you receive a nonrenewal notice, ideally using an independent insurance agent who represents multiple carriers. Independent agents can access both admitted carriers (those regulated by the California DOI and backed by the state guaranty fund) and surplus lines carriers, which are not required to file rates with the DOI and are not backed by the guaranty fund but can sometimes offer broader coverage than the FAIR Plan in areas where admitted carriers have withdrawn. Surplus lines policies are legal and widely used; they simply carry a different risk profile if the insurer itself becomes insolvent.

Use the California DOI's licensed producer lookup tool to verify that any agent or insurer you work with is properly licensed in California. Disaster situations sometimes attract unlicensed actors offering policies that turn out not to exist. The DOI website also maintains a list of admitted insurers currently writing residential coverage in California, which can help narrow down which companies to approach.

Contact the California DOI consumer line if you are having difficulty finding coverage. The DOI has a dedicated team that works with consumers in crisis insurance situations and can sometimes facilitate connections with carriers that are still writing in specific counties. The phone number and online portal are listed on the DOI's consumer help page. Keep records of every insurer you contacted, the date, and the response — if you eventually file a complaint or seek state assistance, documentation of your good-faith efforts to find coverage will support your case.