If your insurance carrier just sent you a non-renewal notice because of wildfire risk in your area, you’re far from alone — and you do have a path forward. The California FAIR Plan exists specifically for homeowners the standard market has turned away.
What the FAIR Plan actually is
The FAIR Plan (Fair Access to Insurance Requirements) is California’s insurer of last resort for property coverage. It was created by the state legislature in 1968, and it isn’t a government program — it’s an insurance pool that every licensed property insurer in California is required to back, overseen by the California Department of Insurance. In plain terms: when no private carrier will write you a policy because of fire risk, the FAIR Plan is required to.
What it covers
A basic FAIR Plan policy covers fire and lightning damage, smoke damage, and explosion, and in most areas, windstorm and vandalism (some high-risk zones have exclusions, so we’ll confirm exactly what applies to your property). That’s a solid floor — but it is only a floor.
What it doesn’t cover
This is the part that catches people off guard: in most counties, a basic FAIR Plan policy is fire coverage only. It typically does not include personal liability, your belongings (personal property), additional living expenses if you have to move out temporarily, water damage unless it’s fire-related, or earthquake coverage. If a burst pipe floods your kitchen or a guest gets hurt on your property, a bare FAIR Plan policy won’t help with either one.
How we usually fill the gap
For most of our clients in higher-risk areas, we pair the FAIR Plan with a second policy — called a Difference in Conditions (DIC) policy — that covers everything the FAIR Plan leaves out: liability, your belongings, additional living expenses, and water damage. Written together, the two policies function like a normal homeowners policy. The FAIR Plan satisfies your mortgage lender’s minimum requirement; the DIC policy protects everything else. Depending on your risk profile, the combined cost can land close to what a standard homeowners policy would have cost — we’ll only know for certain once we run your specific numbers.
Do you qualify?
You’re generally eligible if the property is in California, you’ve been declined or non-renewed by at least one standard carrier (we’ll need that letter), and the property meets basic insurability standards — roof condition and defensible space around the home are the two that come up most. If you’ve already received a non-renewal or decline letter, hold onto it; it’s what makes you eligible.
A few things to know going in
FAIR Plan deductibles are a flat dollar amount you choose when you apply, not a percentage of your coverage. If you’ve had a fire claim in the last few years, expect more questions during underwriting. And during active fire seasons, processing can slow down simply from volume — the earlier you start, the better.
We’ll put the whole picture together for you
You don’t need to figure out the FAIR Plan and a DIC policy on your own. Send us your non-renewal or decline letter, and we’ll shop the DIC side across the markets that write it, so you end up with one coordinated plan instead of a bare-minimum policy and a gap you didn’t know you had.