Research findings

What homeowners are telling us

Updated August 15, 2026

This page shares anonymized themes from two sources: responses to the California Fire Insurance Project research survey, and patterns we are also seeing in public homeowner discussions. Survey themes and community observations are labeled separately so the sources stay clear.

From survey responses

• Non-renewals remain the most common starting point

  Non-renewal is still the single most frequently reported situation. Several described learning they would not be renewed with limited time to compare alternatives—sometimes after years with the same carrier or agency relationship, and sometimes after more than one non-renewal in a row.

• FAIR Plan involvement is even more common than the category breakdown shows

  About half of responses are categorized directly as a FAIR Plan or FAIR Plan-plus-DIC/wrap placement. Several more mention ending up on the FAIR Plan within a response categorized as a non-renewal or premium increase. Read together, roughly two-thirds of respondents mention the FAIR Plan somewhere in their story.

• Premium jumps range from modest to extreme—and some swing unpredictably year to year

  Reported annual premium changes in this sample range from about $2,200 to $2,450 (+11%) up to $843 to $3,904 (+363%) and $1,500 to $7,000 (+367%). Other reported pairs include roughly $5,130 to $6,436, $5,219 to $5,897, $4,777 to $7,556, and $9,000 to $13,000. One respondent on the FAIR Plan since shortly after the 2018 Camp Fire described premiums that doubled one year, dropped by about $1,600 the next, and rose another 10% this year—with no explanation offered for the swings. These are homeowner-reported figures, not verified quotes or policy documents.

• Mitigation work does not guarantee stable coverage

  Defensible space clearing is the most common step homeowners report taking, followed by ember-resistant vents, Firewise community designation, and completed inspections. Even so, several respondents with extensive mitigation still faced non-renewal, FAIR Plan placement, or new carrier demands—like repainting trim, installing monitoring systems, or clearing debris flagged in an inspection photo taken during light snowfall. In at least one case, a single fixed property feature—a propane tank—was cited as the reason for non-renewal, suggesting some carriers are screening out specific features on their own, separate from overall wildfire exposure or completed mitigation.

• Home purchases can mean starting directly on the FAIR Plan

  Several respondents said that when buying a home, no standard-market carrier would offer a new policy at all, leaving the FAIR Plan as the only option from day one—not a step down after a non-renewal, but the starting point.

• For some, the problem is access to any carrier, not just price

  One respondent's carrier said it was no longer writing homeowners business in California at all, pushing them onto the FAIR Plan—not because a specific renewal was declined, but because the carrier exited the state entirely. Another described applying for fire coverage months earlier, submitting extra photos and answering follow-up questions, and still receiving no approval or denial. Both describe a different problem than a single non-renewal: not knowing whether coverage is available at all.

• Some homeowners are losing more than fire coverage

  One respondent's manufactured home was dropped for fire coverage entirely, forcing a split into separate fire and non-fire policies—and the loss of earthquake coverage in the process—at more than double the prior cost. Another described being offered a policy through a non-admitted insurance subsidiary, meaning California's guaranty protections would not apply if that insurer became insolvent.

• Geography is broadening beyond the Sierra

  Truckee and North Lake Tahoe (96161) still account for a large share of survey responses, but we are also hearing from homeowners in Marin and the Bay Area, the Central Coast, the Sierra foothills, the Central Valley, Butte County, the Inland Empire, and South Lake Tahoe. Public homeowner discussions in Marin (below) underscore that coastal and suburban Bay Area communities are part of this story too. We still need more structured survey responses from those areas before drawing statewide conclusions.

• Multi-carrier histories are common

  Several respondents describe more than one non-renewal or carrier switch over a few years—sometimes losing coverage from two or three carriers in succession—before landing on the FAIR Plan, a surplus-lines carrier, or a DIC/wrap combination.

What we're also hearing in public homeowner discussions

Marin County / Novato-area thread (August 2026)

These themes come from neighbors comparing renewals in a public discussion. They are not counted in the survey sample above. Examples are anonymized composites; premiums are unverified snapshots.

• Nearby homes, opposite renewal outcomes

  In one Marin discussion, a long-time claim-free homeowner described an initial renewal that jumped several times over — then moved again after contacting the carrier — while a nearby neighbor with a different carrier saw little or no increase in the same cycle. Same community, very different answers.

• A clean claims history does not explain the bill

  Claim-free longevity was emotionally central in the thread — and did not line up neatly with price. At least one local homeowner with a recent six-figure claim described a premium in the same high range as the claim-free homeowner's sticker-shock renewal. Loyalty and loss history are not the instruments driving these gaps.

• Shopping can cut the premium — and then reverse

  Several people described switching carriers and roughly halving cost. Another described getting a competitive new policy, then a mid-term drop notice over an original 1970s electrical panel. A lower quote is real money today; it is not always a stable ending.

• Condition and property features act as pass/fail gates

  Beyond price, neighbors described roofs, vegetation near the structure, and electrical panels as underwriting triggers — including a case where addressing a roof issue was followed by renewal and a lower premium. These gates sit on top of wildfire scoring, not instead of it.

• Condo / HOA buildings face a sharper version of market exit

  One account described a large condo association losing a long-time admitted carrier, then landing in the secondary market with far less coverage at several times the prior premium — even after unit electrical upgrades and major vegetation work — with large owner assessments. Different product, same pattern: exit, repricing, and homeowner cost shock.

Focus areas we continue to track

• Non-renewals often arrive with little warning

  Homeowners frequently report learning about a non-renewal close to their renewal date, with limited time to shop or understand alternatives. We are tracking how often this happens and what information people receive.

• FAIR Plan as a default path

  In wildfire-affected areas, homeowners describe being steered toward the FAIR Plan when standard-market carriers decline or withdraw. We are tracking who ends up there and what options they were offered first.

• DIC and wrap coverage confusion

  Even after FAIR Plan placement, homeowners often struggle to understand whether they need separate difference-in-conditions coverage and how to find it. We are tracking where gaps in understanding show up.

• Premium increases reshaping household budgets

  Renewals that remain available sometimes come with large premium jumps, pushing homeowners to reduce coverage or reconsider property plans. We are tracking the scale and frequency of these increases.

• Real estate and lending friction

  Insurance problems are showing up during home purchases, refinances, and escrow, not just at annual renewal. We are tracking how often lender and escrow requirements add pressure.

• Utility wildfire liability and insurance costs

  At least one respondent connected rising FAIR Plan costs to wildfires linked to utility equipment and regulatory decisions about utility liability. We are tracking whether more responses draw this same connection.

• Carriers narrowing or exiting the California market

  Some homeowners describe a carrier exiting California outright rather than declining a single renewal, and others describe months-long delays with no approval or denial on a new application. We are tracking how often the core problem is access to coverage at all—not just its price.

• Quote spreads among nearby homes

  We are tracking how often neighbors in the same community report sharply different renewals or mid-term condition drops after shopping, and whether those gaps line up with wildfire scoring, filing vintage, appetite, or property-condition rules.

Questions we are still exploring

• Which counties and zip codes are seeing the most non-renewals?
• How often are mitigation steps helping homeowners regain standard-market options?
• What coverage limits are homeowners accepting when premiums rise?
• Where are lender and escrow requirements creating additional friction?
• How often do homeowners understand FAIR Plan vs. DIC/wrap coverage before binding?
• How often does a home purchase end in FAIR Plan placement with no standard-market option ever offered?
• How often is the core problem access to any coverage—carrier market exits or unresolved applications—rather than price alone?
• How often do nearby homes in the same community see several-fold differences in renewal outcomes in the same cycle?
• How often does an initial sticker-shock renewal change after the homeowner requests a worksheet or contacts the carrier?
• How often does a competitive new policy reverse after a post-bind inspection or condition notice?

Observations published here reflect homeowner-reported experiences and, where labeled, themes from public homeowner discussions — not verified carrier or regulatory data. We share them to document what people are facing while the research continues.