If you’re one of the hundreds of thousands of California homeowners insured through the California FAIR Plan, your next renewal may come with a painful surprise. The Department of Insurance approved a 29.1% average statewide rate increase for FAIR Plan dwelling policies, and it applies to new and renewing policies on or after October 15, 2026.
Here’s what’s changing, why, and the steps I recommend to every FAIR Plan client we work with.
What’s changing
- 29.1% is an average, not a flat increase. Your change depends on your home, location and wildfire risk. Some homes will see less; homes in the highest-risk areas may see more.
- It hits at renewal. If your policy renews on or after October 15, 2026, the new rates apply. If you renewed before that date, you’ll see it next year.
- It’s smaller than requested. The FAIR Plan originally asked for a 35.8% average increase in its September 2025 filing.
- It affects our area heavily. The Department of Insurance has reported that FAIR Plan growth is strongest in counties with many high-wildfire-risk homes, including Nevada and Sierra counties.
Why the FAIR Plan is raising rates
- Growth and exposure. FAIR Plan enrollment has surged as private carriers pulled back, and the plan now carries far more risk than it was designed for.
- Losses. The January 2025 Los Angeles fires were enormously costly, and the Department of Insurance approved a $1 billion assessment on member insurers to help the plan keep paying claims.
- New rate rules. This was the first FAIR Plan dwelling filing reviewed under California’s Sustainable Insurance Strategy, which allows wildfire catastrophe models and the net cost of reinsurance to be considered in rates.
The bottom line: the FAIR Plan is designed to be a safety net, and its rates are moving closer to the true cost of the risk it carries.
What you can do about it
1. Read your renewal carefully
Look at the premium, the coverage limits and the deductible. Make sure your dwelling limit still reflects today’s rebuild cost, and that nothing changed you didn’t expect.
2. Re-shop every market, now
The market is not standing still. Some admitted carriers are writing again in wildfire areas under the state’s new rate rules, and surplus lines options change constantly. A higher FAIR Plan premium can also change the math: an admitted or non-admitted option that cost more than the FAIR Plan last year may now be competitive. Read How to Get Off the California FAIR Plan for the full playbook.
3. Get credit for mitigation
Under California’s Safer from Wildfires framework, wildfire mitigation can earn discounts, including with the FAIR Plan. Think Class A roof, ember-resistant vents, a clean five-foot Zone Zero, defensible space, and being part of a recognized Firewise USA community. Document everything with dated photos.
4. Don’t forget your DIC policy
Your FAIR Plan policy covers mainly fire. Your Difference in Conditions (DIC) policy fills the gaps like liability, theft and water damage. It renews separately and may change too. Make sure you still have one, and that its limits match.
5. Right-size coverage and deductible
Don’t cut your dwelling limit below rebuild cost to save money. That’s a risk you can’t afford after a total loss. Instead, ask how a different deductible changes your premium. See How Your Home Insurance Deductible Works.
6. Never let coverage lapse
If you find a better option, bind the new policy first, then cancel the FAIR Plan effective the same day, and update your mortgage lender.
Know where your home stands before you renew
A big FAIR Plan renewal is a good reason to find out whether your home could qualify somewhere else, and what would make the difference. That’s exactly what our Wildfire Insurability Walk-Through is for.
Phil or a member of our team visits your property and looks at it the way insurance underwriters do, so you know where your home stands and what to do next.
- Reviews your home against carriers’ own underwriting guidelines
- Verifies your ISO mapping: the actual distance to the nearest fire station and hydrant
- Identifies and validates mitigation discounts, which are hard to sort out on your own
- Captures the photos and details carriers, and the FAIR Plan if needed, require up front
- Gives you clear next steps to put your home in its best position for coverage
This is an insurability review only. It isn’t a home inspection, an appraisal or a fire agency defensible space inspection.
Book a Walk-Through Email phil@gold.insureHow we handle FAIR Plan renewals at Gold Insurance Solutions
- We shop admitted carriers first, every time.
- We show you every option we find: admitted, non-admitted, and FAIR Plan with a DIC policy, with the pros, cons and real costs.
- We tell you who’s behind each policy: the carrier, how it’s backed and how it’s rated.
- We don’t stop looking. If today’s best option is the FAIR Plan or a non-admitted carrier, that’s a starting point, not where we finish. We keep re-marketing your home until competitive admitted options return, and we move you when they do.
The goal is always an admitted carrier. Until then, we’ll make sure you’re protected, informed and never paying more than you have to. Learn more in Admitted, Non-Admitted and the CA FAIR Plan.
Facing a big FAIR Plan renewal?
Let’s look at your renewal together and re-shop your home before you pay. Book a 30-minute review with me or request a free quote. Current clients with questions about an existing policy or renewal can reach our service team at team@gold.insure.
Specialists in California’s wildland-urban interface, where homes meet forest, brush and grassland.
Phil Irwin, President, Gold Insurance Solutions. CA License #6000540. General information as of October 2026, not legal advice. Coverage and pricing vary by carrier and home.