California FAIR Plan & Wildfire Insurance Report 2026

Updated October 2026. The California FAIR Plan had 621,234 dwelling policies in force on September 30, 2025, about three times its FY2020 count, according to the California FAIR Plan Association. Growth has since cooled: the California Department of Insurance (CDI) reported that the plan added 12,305 policies, or 1.9%, in the second quarter of 2026, the third straight quarter of slower growth. For sellers, insurance now shapes the transaction: financed buyers generally need coverage to close, and homes in high or very high fire hazard severity zones carry extra disclosure duties.

What is the California FAIR Plan?

The FAIR Plan is California’s insurer of last resort. It sells basic fire insurance for properties that cannot get coverage from a traditional insurer and calls itself a possible “temporary solution.” Brokers check the regular market first, and the plan says it is not the right fit where regular coverage is available.

Its dwelling policy is a named-peril policy covering fire and lightning, internal explosion and smoke, with options such as vandalism coverage at extra cost. For broader protection, the FAIR Plan suggests adding a difference in conditions (DIC) policy from another insurer to provide the equivalent of comprehensive homeowners coverage; flood and earthquake coverage are separate. A FAIR Plan home may therefore carry two policies and two premiums, and a buyer generally arranges coverage of their own.

How much has the FAIR Plan grown, and where?

Dwelling policies rose in every fiscal year from FY2020 to FY2025 (years end September 30), with the biggest increases in the last two years: from 320,572 in FY2023 to 449,833 in FY2024 and 621,234 in FY2025, a 38% jump, according to the FAIR Plan’s five-year residential tables. Insured dwelling value rose from $115.3 billion to $645.1 billion. The plan’s Key Statistics page shows 696,562 dwelling and commercial policies and $768 billion in total exposure as of June 2026.

Los Angeles (154,765), San Bernardino (65,132), San Diego (59,063) and Riverside (57,026) counties held about 52% of the plan’s 642,010 policies across all lines at the end of FY2025, by our calculation from the FAIR Plan’s county table. The fastest growth came where the plan started small: Contra Costa’s count grew 14.0 times over five years and Modoc’s 13.2 times. Among the plan’s largest counties, Riverside grew 7.9 times and Orange 7.6 times.

Is FAIR Plan growth slowing as insurers return?

Yes, though the plan is still adding policies. CDI reported on August 3, 2026, that the FAIR Plan grew by 12,305 policies (1.9%) in the second quarter of 2026, its smallest quarterly gain since 2022, and estimated that about 24,000 policies left the plan in April and May. A May 20, 2026 CDI fact sheet, which we found posted on the United Policyholders website rather than on CDI’s own site, said average FAIR Plan rates will rise 29% effective October 15, 2026, down from the 36% the plan requested.

CDI’s Sustainable Insurance Strategy, completed in December 2024, brings catastrophe modeling into rate-making and requires participating insurers to write more policies in wildfire-distressed areas. As of September 18, 2026, CDI said 12 insurance groups had filed or won approval under it, including Allstate. The same alert said State Farm General filed an application, outside the strategy, to resume accepting new homeowners applications for the first time since May 2023, tied to IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home standards, but cautioned that these companies “are not open for new business yet.”

Why does insurance matter when you sell a home?

Because buyers who finance usually cannot close without it: lenders generally require proof of homeowner’s insurance as a condition of the loan, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). If a buyer cannot find acceptable coverage at a workable price, the purchase can stall or fall apart.

The CFPB says premiums reflect the area’s disaster risk, property features such as the roof, electrical system, year built and mitigation, and past claims on the property. Buyers should request quotes early in escrow, and sellers should have records ready.

A cash buyer does not need lender-required insurance to close, which removes one source of uncertainty for hard-to-insure homes. Selling as-is to a cash buyer is one option alongside listing with an agent; see how our process works and compare estimated net proceeds from both routes.

How did the fire hazard severity zone maps change?

CAL FIRE’s Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) updated them in two stages. Maps for the State Responsibility Area (SRA) took effect April 1, 2024. Maps for Local Responsibility Areas (LRA) were released in four phases between February 10 and March 24, 2025, and OSFM refers owners to their city or county for a specific LRA property’s status.

OSFM’s acreage table rates 18,043,753 acres as Very High hazard (16,881,829 in the SRA and 1,161,924 in local areas) and 11,292,327 acres as High. OSFM says the maps measure hazard, not risk: expected fire behavior over 30 to 50 years, without counting mitigation such as home hardening.

The zone determines which disclosures apply, though CDI says insurers price policies with their own wildfire risk models, not these maps.

What fire-related disclosures must California sellers make?

In sales covered by California’s residential disclosure laws, sellers generally provide three wildfire-related items:

• Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement (Civil Code §1103.2). The statutory form covers flood hazard, dam inundation, fire hazard severity, wildland fire, earthquake fault and seismic hazard zones, and warns that these hazards may limit a buyer’s ability “to obtain insurance.”
• Defensible-space documentation (Civil Code §1102.19). Since July 1, 2021, sellers of homes in high or very high zones must give the buyer documentation of compliance with state or local vegetation-management rules: the document a local ordinance requires or, where no ordinance applies but an inspection program exists, one obtained in the six months before the sale. Without it, buyer and seller sign a written agreement for the buyer to obtain it, in the second case within one year after close of escrow.
• Home-hardening notice (Civil Code §1102.6f). For homes in those zones built before January 1, 2010, the seller’s notice states that the home predates the wildland-urban interface building codes and lists known vulnerable features, such as vents with openings over one-eighth inch, untreated wood shake or shingle roofs, combustible material within five feet of the home and single-pane windows. Since July 1, 2025, the notice also includes the State Fire Marshal’s list of low-cost retrofits and which ones the seller completed.

Selling as-is generally does not remove these duties. Ask your agent or a real estate attorney how they apply to your sale.

What should sellers in wildfire areas do before listing?

Preparation will not change a home’s zone, but it can make the property easier to insure:

• Insurance history: declarations pages, whether you carry a FAIR Plan policy plus a DIC policy, any non-renewal notices and a summary of past claims.
• Wildfire risk score: under CDI’s Safer from Wildfires regulation, insurers must provide it when you apply, before a renewal or non-renewal, and on request after mitigation work.
• Mitigation records: receipts, permits and photos for a Class A fire-rated roof, ember-resistant vents, a 5-foot ember-resistant zone, double-pane windows or enclosed eaves. These steps can qualify for discounts under CDI’s rules.
• Disclosures: order the Natural Hazard Disclosure report early, confirm your zone, and ask your local fire agency how it documents defensible-space compliance.
• The buyer’s search: share your carrier and broker details. CDI advises shoppers to contact several agents and brokers and ask which companies are writing new policies in the area.

Frequently asked questions

Methodology and sources

FAIR Plan figures are fiscal-year-end totals (September 30) from the association’s five-year residential and county tables (county figures cover all lines); it notes that totals can vary by data source. June 2026 totals come from its Key Statistics page. CDI figures come from documents dated May 20 (posted by United Policyholders), August 3 and September 18, 2026. Acreage comes from OSFM’s 2024-2025 table, and statutes were read on the Legislature’s code site in October 2026. Shares and multiples are simple arithmetic on published figures; nothing is estimated.

• FAIR Plan: Key Statistics and Data; residential policy growth (FY2025); residential exposure growth (FY2025); policies by county (FY2025); dwelling coverage
• CDI: FAIR Plan growth slows below 2% (Aug. 3, 2026); insurers move to reopen (Sept. 18, 2026); Sustainable Insurance Strategy; fact sheet, May 20, 2026 (posted by United Policyholders); hazard maps and insurance; Safer from Wildfires FAQ
• CAL FIRE OSFM: Fire Hazard Severity Zones; zone acreage, SRA and LRA
• California Civil Code §1103.2, §1102.19 and §1102.6f
• CFPB: why homeowner’s insurance is required; shop for homeowner’s insurance

Related research: all Cash Home Buyers CA research reports, the California As-Is Home Sale Report 2026, the California Fixer-Upper & Older Housing Stock Report, the California Home Selling Costs Report and the California Mortgage Rate Lock-In Report 2026. To compare your options, see how our process works and where we buy.