Your insurer just gave you 75 days. Here's what to do with them.
California law requires at least 75 days' notice before a home insurance non-renewal takes effect — more warning than almost anything else that arrives in your mailbox. That's enough time to do this right, if you work through it in the correct order. This page is that order.
Everything for California homeowners
Your deadline
- 75 daysNotice period: Cal. Ins. Code §678 (as amended by AB 1816, effective July 1, 2020).
- California non-renewal rules, in plain language
Your options
- California FAIR Plan — Guaranteed-issue, fire-only coverage when private insurers decline — usually paired with a DIC policy.
- DIC insurance — The separate policy that adds water damage, theft, liability and loss of use on top of the FAIR Plan.
- Getting covered when you’re high-risk — The order to work through: admitted market, surplus lines, then FAIR Plan + DIC.
- Wildfire rules and discounts — The one-year moratorium after declared wildfires, and the mitigation discounts insurers must offer.
Tools
- Non-renewal deadline calculator — Enter the date on your notice and get the exact date your coverage lapses, with a countdown checklist.
- California home insurance calculator — A budgeting range for a full homeowners policy by rebuild cost, wildfire exposure, deductible and mitigation.
- California FAIR Plan premium calculator — A FAIR Plan premium range by coverage amount and risk tier — plus the DIC wrap the official calculator leaves out.
- All California calculators
Official resources
Coverage Clock is independent and is not affiliated with any of these organisations. Facts checked October 8, 2026.
Three doors. Try them in this order.
Skipping ahead costs real money. Going straight to the expensive specialty market when a standard insurer would've written you means overpaying for coverage you didn't need to buy at that price.
Re-shop the standard (admitted) market
A non-renewal from one insurer doesn't blacklist your home everywhere. Underwriting criteria vary a lot carrier to carrier, and several California-focused insurers have launched in the past two years specifically to write homes larger national carriers won't touch.
- Get a defensible-space / wildfire-mitigation inspection if the reason code on your notice mentions brush, roof material, or vent screening — documented mitigation can requalify a home that was declined a year ago.
- Ask every agent you call whether they represent more than one admitted carrier. A captive agent (one company only) can't tell you no on behalf of the whole market.
- Comparing rates across multiple carriers at once saves calling each one individually — you can start a comparison here.
- Prefer to go straight to specific carriers instead of a blanket comparison? State Farm, Progressive, and Liberty Mutual all write homeowners coverage directly, and Insurify pulls quotes from several carriers at once. If you or a family member served in the military, USAA is another option — membership is required.
California FAIR Plan — paired with a DIC wrap
If no admitted carrier will write you, the FAIR Plan has to: it's guaranteed-issue. But it only covers named fire perils — fire, lightning, internal explosion, and smoke. Full stop.
It does not cover water damage from a burst pipe, theft, liability if a guest is hurt on your property, or loss-of-use if you're displaced. Most mortgage lenders require coverage the FAIR Plan alone can't provide.
Surplus lines (E&S) market
Licensed but non-admitted specialty insurers write full homeowners coverage — not just fire — for higher-risk homes the standard market won't touch. It costs more than an admitted policy, but it's broader, real protection than FAIR Plan alone, without needing a separate DIC wrap.
- Not every agent has access to this market. Ask specifically: "Do you hold E&S or surplus-lines appointments, or only admitted carriers?"
- Get the quote in writing before you drop any existing coverage — surplus-lines pricing varies more between brokers than the admitted market does.
This isn't a fringe problem in 2026.
The scale of what's happening to California's home insurance market explains why standard shopping suddenly feels so much harder than it used to.
This week, not this month.
Read the reason code on the notice. Wildfire risk score, claims history, roof age, and underwriting withdrawal each point to a different fastest path — don't skip this to "save time."
Call your current agent and ask directly whether they hold E&S/surplus-lines appointments or only admitted carriers. If it's admitted-only and you get declined, find a second broker before you assume you need the FAIR Plan.
Get a mitigation inspection if wildfire risk is the stated reason. Documented defensible space and ember-resistant vents change some carriers' answers.
If the admitted market is a dead end, apply to the FAIR Plan and price a DIC wrap in the same call — not as a follow-up you get to later.
Confirm your new policy's effective date overlaps the old one's. Even a one-day lapse can trigger your lender's force-placed insurance — which costs far more than anything above. How force-placed insurance actually works →
Build a documented home inventory while you're already gathering paperwork for this. A dated, photo-backed record of your home's condition and belongings makes any future claim faster to settle and gives a new carrier's underwriter less to guess about. HomeZada is a home-management app built for exactly this.
A home warranty covers what your homeowners policy doesn't. Mechanical breakdowns of a furnace, water heater, or major appliance from ordinary wear aren't a homeowners-insurance claim. American Home Shield and Choice Home Warranty both sell plans that cover that gap.
Vetting a broker in five minutes
- Ask the E&S/surplus-lines question above — word for word. A vague answer is itself an answer.
- Get at least two quotes from brokers who don't share the same carrier appointments, so you're actually seeing two parts of the market, not one broker twice.
- Verify any agent's license on the California Department of Insurance's license lookup before signing anything.
What people ask before they call anyone.
Can I get home insurance after being non-renewed in California?
In most cases, yes. A non-renewal from one insurer doesn't blacklist your home everywhere — underwriting criteria vary a lot carrier to carrier. Work through the market in order: re-shop the standard admitted market first, then the California FAIR Plan paired with a DIC wrap, then the surplus lines (E&S) market.
What is the California FAIR Plan?
A guaranteed-issue insurer of last resort backed by every licensed insurer in the state. It only covers named fire perils — fire, lightning, internal explosion, and smoke — not water damage, theft, liability, or loss-of-use.
Do I need a DIC policy if I have FAIR Plan coverage?
Almost always, yes. A DIC (Difference in Conditions) policy wraps around the FAIR Plan to cover everything it excludes, and most mortgage lenders require this combined coverage. Only about half of FAIR Plan policyholders currently carry one.
How much notice does California require before a home insurer can not renew my policy?
At least 75 days under Cal. Ins. Code §678, as amended by AB 1816 (effective July 1, 2020) — up from 45 days before that reform. If your ZIP code is inside a state-declared wildfire disaster area, non-renewals on existing policies can be frozen for up to a year.
What is surplus lines (E&S) insurance?
Licensed but non-admitted specialty insurers that write full homeowners coverage — not just fire — for higher-risk homes the standard market won't touch. It costs more than an admitted policy but is broader protection than the FAIR Plan alone.