California homeowners insurance
California owner-occupied homes are not quoted over the phone here. Send the full details and someone reviews the address, the construction and the brush exposure before coming back to you.
We cannot quote an owner-occupied home by phone in California. Send the full details on the form and someone will review it and follow up.
Send my details →Three things driving the California home market right now
- 1
Wildfire scoring happens at the address, not the ZIP code
Carriers run brush-mapping and wildfire models on the specific parcel: slope, vegetation, distance to fuel, road access, roof material and defensible space. Two houses on the same street can score differently. This is why a California home needs a look rather than an instant number.
- 2
The FAIR Plan is a floor, not a policy most people want
California’s FAIR Plan exists as the market of last resort and is deliberately limited — it is a fire-focused policy, not a full homeowners form. Owners who end up there usually pair it with a difference-in-conditions policy to put back liability, theft, water damage and the rest. Anyone being pushed toward it should understand what the pairing involves.
- 3
Earthquake and flood are both outside the policy
Every standard homeowners form in the country excludes earthquake and flood, and California is the state where both exclusions bite hardest. Earthquake cover comes through the California Earthquake Authority or a private market; flood is its own policy with its own waiting period.
What makes the difference on a wildfire score
The things an owner can change are the ones underwriters look at: clearing defensible space to the state’s zone guidance, a Class A roof, ember-resistant vents, and keeping fuel away from the structure and the deck. Work done under a community wildfire programme is worth mentioning by name on the submission, because it can be verifiable rather than merely claimed.
Rebuilding cost is not market value
What a California house would sell for and what it would cost to rebuild on the same lot are different numbers, often by a lot, and the policy is built on the second one. Underinsurance shows up after a total loss, which is the worst moment to discover it. Extended or guaranteed replacement cost endorsements exist to put a cushion on top; ask whether yours has one and how big it is.
Older housing stock and the systems inside it
Knob-and-tube wiring, a federal-pacific panel, galvanised supply lines, an original roof: any one of these can decide whether a carrier will look at the house at all. If updates have been done, the year each was done is worth putting on the submission. If they have not, it is better to say so than to have it found at inspection.
What to send with a California home submission
The more of this arrives up front, the fewer rounds it takes.
- Full property address, including the county
- Year built, square footage and construction type
- Roof year, roof material, and the class rating if you have it
- Year of the last update to wiring, plumbing, heating and the electrical panel
- Defensible space work done, and under which programme if any
- Any claim on the property in the last five years, including before you owned it
- Whether you also want earthquake or flood looked at
Frequently asked questions
Why can’t you quote my California home over the phone?
Owner-occupied homes in California are reviewed from a full online submission rather than quoted on a call. The address-level wildfire and construction detail that decides the answer is not something that can be settled in a five-minute conversation.
What is the FAIR Plan?
It is California’s insurer of last resort, set up to provide basic fire coverage where the standard market will not write. It is narrower than a normal homeowners policy, which is why owners generally add a difference-in-conditions policy alongside it.
Is earthquake damage covered?
Not by a standard homeowners policy, in California or anywhere else. Cover is available separately, commonly through the California Earthquake Authority, and it has its own deductible structure.
What about a mobile or manufactured home?
Factory-built homes work differently and are handled on a separate line in every state, California included. That one can be quoted by phone.
Request your California quote
Send your details and someone will review them and follow up.
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