If a non-renewal letter moved you to the California FAIR Plan this year, you are one of a very large number of people. This article puts the FAIR Plan's own figures and the Department of Insurance's own words on one page, dated, so you can read your declarations page against the record rather than against the headlines. Every figure below is quoted from the named source as it was printed on September 13, 2026. Where two official sources disagree, both are shown. Where a source is silent, we say so rather than fill the gap.

Read date: September 13, 2026. The FAIR Plan and the Department of Insurance update their pages on their own schedules. Check the primary sources at the end of this article before relying on a figure.

How big the FAIR Plan is, by its own count

The FAIR Plan publishes a five-year table titled Policy Growth by Fiscal Year (Residential, Commercial and BOP Lines) / Data by County. Its note reads: "All figures as of 09/30/2025." The statewide rows print 242,440 at 9/30/2021, 273,346 at 9/30/2022, 330,265 at 9/30/2023, 463,159 at 9/30/2024 and 642,010 at 9/30/2025. The sheet itself prints a year-over-year figure of 39 percent for the last step; we quote that as the sheet's number and do not compute our own.

The same sheet lists the ten largest counties at 9/30/2025, with the prior year in parentheses: Los Angeles 154,765 (112,945); San Bernardino 65,132 (50,761); San Diego 59,063 (37,375); Riverside 57,026 (33,472); El Dorado 28,167 (23,921); Orange 23,748 (13,654); Nevada 23,438 (19,795); Placer 18,996 (15,674); Ventura 15,010 (9,409); Tuolumne 14,071 (12,892). Note the title: those rows count residential, commercial and business-owner policies together. The sheet does not print a dwelling-only statewide total, and we do not subtract one out.

Three newer statewide figures exist, each with a different date and label, and they should not be averaged into one number:

  • The FAIR Plan's key statistics page, "through June 2026": total policies in force 696,562; total exposure $768 billion; total written premium $2.04B; new business "through 9 months of FY2026 (October 2025 – June 2026) is 151,061, a monthly average of 16,784."
  • The Department of Insurance's Sustainable Insurance Strategy page, footer "Updated February 2026": "668,609 FAIR Plan homeowner and commercial policy count in December," beside "8,300,730 Total homeowner policy count (not including FAIR Plan policies)."
  • The FAIR Plan's own slides to the Assembly Insurance Committee in January 2026: "FAIR Plan's total PIF is 668,609 (December 2025)" and exposure of "$724 billion (December 2025)."

The Department's May 1, 2026 alert adds the only dwelling-versus-commercial split we found printed by a primary source: "The FAIR Plan added approximately 16,000 residential policies in Q1 2026, representing about 2.4% growth from the previous quarter," while "Commercial policy counts remained relatively stable, increasing only slightly from 21,200 to 21,464 policies." The FAIR Plan's own commercial ZIP table prints 20,718 commercial policies at 9/30/2025; that is a different report and a different date, so we show both.

The billion-dollar assessment, and the $28 line on your renewal

On February 11, 2025, the Department announced that the FAIR Plan had "requested the Commissioner's approval for $1 billion in additional funds from its member companies" after the Palisades and Eaton fires, and that "Commissioner Lara approved the FAIR Plan's request — known as an 'assessment'." Order 2025-1 states it plainly: "The FAIR Plan's request for an assessment in the amount of $1 billion is APPROVED." The order's recitals put total incurred losses for the Palisades, Eaton and Hurst fires at $4,039,000,000, with $914,000,000 already paid. The Department's release called the prior assessments, after the 1993 and 1994 fires, "$260 million, or approximately $563 million in today's dollars."

Bulletin 2025-4, issued the same day, explains the part that reaches your own policy: a member insurer "may request recoupment of 50% of the assessment paid to the FAIR Plan" if not otherwise reimbursed. The Department's FAQ says the split between personal and commercial lines "is approximately 97% to 3%." On July 1, 2026, the Department reported that a Los Angeles Superior Court judge "rejected a lawsuit filed by Consumer Watchdog" challenging those bulletins, and put the "median fee for homeowners" at $28 per year. If your admitted-carrier renewal carries a FAIR Plan recoupment line, that is what it is.

The FAIR Plan's statutory financial statements for the year ended September 30, 2025, audited on March 31, 2026, print losses incurred of $2,024,766,579 against $212,058,120 the prior year, and a members' deficit of "approximately $351,781,000 as of September 30, 2025." In February 2026 the Commissioner authorised "a $600 million revolving line of credit with a maturity date of February 26, 2027."

Rates: what is approved and what is still pending in the primary record

The FAIR Plan's January 2026 slides to the Assembly show its dwelling rate filing history. The 2021 filing: rate need 74 percent, filed 48.8 percent, approved 15.7 percent, approval date September 2023. The current filing: submission September 2025, "approximate rate need 80%," filed rate increase 35.8%, rate approved "Pending," with the footnote "First rate filing under SIS guidelines, includes some reinsurance costs and catastrophe modeling."

News outlets have since reported an approved figure and an effective date for that filing. As of our read, no Department of Insurance or FAIR Plan page we opened prints an approved percentage or an effective date for the 2025 dwelling filing, so this article does not state one. When a primary page prints it, this section will be updated with the quote and the date. The FAIR Plan's Plan of Operation does state the cadence: it "shall file a rate application for the dwelling line of business within 24 months after the effective date of any approved change to dwelling rates."

What a FAIR Plan dwelling policy covers, in the FAIR Plan's words

The FAIR Plan's dwelling page: "The California FAIR Plan Dwelling Fire Policy is a named peril policy, which provides coverage only for damage caused by the specific causes of loss listed in the policy." The perils listed are Fire & Lightning, Internal Explosion and Smoke. "Optional coverages are available at an additional cost, such as coverage for vandalism and malicious mischief." The Department's residential page adds that, for an additional premium, Extended Coverage (windstorm, hail, explosion, riot or civil commotion, aircraft, vehicles, and volcanic eruption) may be added, and that the policy "does not cover all the perils insured under a traditional homeowners' insurance policy such as theft or liability."

The FAIR Plan's own Difference in Conditions page says what fills the gap: "Difference in Conditions (DIC) policies provide coverages that are not available through the California FAIR Plan, such as water damage, theft and liability coverage. They are designed to combine with a California FAIR Plan policy to provide coverage similar to that in a comprehensive homeowner's policy." And: "The California FAIR Plan does not offer DIC policies." The Department maintains a list of DIC carriers on its residential insurance page; we point you there rather than reproduce it.

Limits: the Department's Top Ten Tips page states that "the maximum limit written by the FAIR Plan on a residential property for all coverages combined is $3,000,000." The Plan of Operation prints the same ceiling as "$3 million at one Location." That limit dates from a November 2019 order: "Effective April 1, 2020, the FAIR Plan will increase the combined dwelling coverage limit from $1.5 million to $3 million." If your rebuild cost, contents and living expenses together exceed $3 million, the FAIR Plan cannot be the whole answer, and an excess placement has to be read alongside it.

A disagreement worth knowing about: in December 2019 the Department ordered the FAIR Plan to offer "a comprehensive policy, known as HO-3 coverage, in addition to its current dwelling fire-only coverage by June 1, 2020." As of this read, the Department's own FAIR Plan consumer page still says "The comprehensive residential policy option is currently in progress," and the FAIR Plan's live dwelling product remains named-peril with optional extensions, pointing customers to a separate DIC. Do not assume a FAIR Plan policy includes liability or water damage. Read the declarations page.

What to check on a FAIR Plan declarations page

  • Coverage A against a current rebuild estimate. The FAIR Plan's how-to-apply page says it "does not estimate the fair market value of your home or building, the cost to rebuild it." The number on the page is the number you or your broker gave it.
  • Whether Extended Coverage and vandalism were added. They are optional lines with their own premium. If they are absent, wind and hail are not covered.
  • The DIC policy that goes with it. A separate carrier, a separate declarations page, its own deductible and its own limits for liability, theft and water. The two documents have to be read together for gaps, especially loss of use during an evacuation.
  • The combined total against $3,000,000. Dwelling, other structures, contents and fair rental value or living expense together.
  • Mitigation discounts. The Department's FAIR Plan page: "Residential policyholders can obtain a discount on the wildfire portion of their FAIR Plan premium for hardening their properties." The FAIR Plan posted its current discount schedule on November 15, 2025.
  • Occupancy. The FAIR Plan writes owner-occupied one-to-four family, seasonal rental, rental, renters and condominium unit owner forms. A seasonal home written as owner-occupied is a claim problem waiting for a date.

Non-renewal moratoria in force on the read date

After a fire that draws a state of emergency, Insurance Code section 675.1 lets the Commissioner bar cancellations and non-renewals in and adjacent to the perimeter. The Department's consumer page states that "the protection from cancellation or non-renewal lasts for one year from the date of the Governor's emergency declaration." Each bulletin prints "for one year, starting on" the declaration date, not a calendar expiry, so we quote the start dates:

  • Gann Fire, Calaveras County: Bulletin 2026-6, dated August 14, 2026, "for one year, starting on August 6, 2026." Residential and commercial. The Department's release says the bulletin covers "more than 64,000 policyholders" across the fire ZIP codes and "adjoining 22 ZIP Codes."
  • Gifford Fire, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties: Bulletin 2026-1, dated January 9, 2026, "for one year, starting on December 23, 2025." The Department's alert: "more than 147,000 policyholders."
  • Pack Fire, Mono County: Bulletin 2025-17, dated December 18, 2025, "for one year, starting on December 09, 2025." The Department's release names one adjoining ZIP in Inyo County.
  • TCU September Lightning Complex, Calaveras and Tuolumne counties: listed on the Department's moratorium page under a September 19, 2025 declaration as Bulletin 2025-13. We did not open the bulletin body this round, so we quote only the page's one-year rule.

The 2025 Los Angeles bulletins for Palisades, Eaton, Hurst and the related fires (declaration January 7, 2025), Hughes (January 7, 2025) and Franklin (June 18, 2025), and every 2024 bulletin, are past one year from their printed declaration dates. A non-renewal in those ZIP codes in autumn 2026 is not a breach of a freeze; it is a business decision, and the remedy is another market lined up before the notice arrives.

The Sustainable Insurance Strategy, in the Department's words

The Department describes the commitment three ways on three pages, and the wording differs, so here is each. Its Strategy page: "insurance companies must meet commitments to write policies covering at least 85% of properties in distressed areas." Its one-pager: "a commitment from insurance companies to write a minimum of 85% of their statewide market share in wildfire distressed areas identified by the Insurance Commissioner." Its July 24, 2025 release: "This reform requires insurers that utilize catastrophe modeling or account for reinsurance costs in their rate filings to write at least 85% of their statewide market share in wildfire-distressed areas." The regulation itself, 10 CCR section 2644.25.3, defines the standard as the insurer's statewide market share multiplied by 0.85 and by the distressed-area exposures, with a five percent increment alternative.

Who has filed: the Department's July 24, 2025 release named the first approved catastrophe model, the "Verisk Wildfire Model for the United States"; its August 1, 2025 release said models from "Verisk, Karen Clark and Company, and Moody's" were all available. Its September 30, 2025 release named Mercury, CSAA, USAA, Pacific Specialty and California Casualty as filers, "All five insurers have requested rate changes of 6.9%." On December 20, 2025 it approved "its first rate filing received under the Sustainable Insurance Strategy from Mercury Insurance" and a second from CSAA. On May 12, 2026 it announced Farmers' approval and named Travelers and the Automobile Club of Southern California as under review. By July 23 and August 14, 2026 the Department counted "11 homeowners insurance groups and 2 major commercial insurers": Farmers, Mercury, Auto Club of Southern California, CSAA, USAA, Liberty Mutual, Travelers, Pacific Specialty, California Casualty, Horace Mann and new entrant MS Transverse, with Mercury and Zurich on the commercial side. The Department's Strategy page, updated February 2026, still shows the older count of "6 homeowners insurance groups"; both vintages are quoted here because both are live.

The Clearinghouse: the way back off the FAIR Plan

The FAIR Plan's member page: "California Insurance Code Section 10095(i) requires that the California FAIR Plan develop and implement a clearinghouse program. It provides the opportunity for admitted insurers to offer homeowners and commercial insurance policies to California FAIR Plan policyholders." The FAIR Plan dates the dwelling programme to AB 3012 in 2020, and announced in June 2024 that the clearinghouse "will expand its clearinghouse to include commercial policies, such as those covering farms and condos, beginning July 1." Since July 1, 2025, the Plan of Operation directs the FAIR Plan to identify policyholders who have completed mitigation under the Safer from Wildfires regulation "and who have not opted out." No FAIR Plan or Department page we opened prints a participating-carrier count or a count of policies moved back to the voluntary market, so we quote none.

Practically, the way off the FAIR Plan is still a broker with appointments in the voluntary and surplus-lines markets, re-shopping the address every renewal. The Department's own advice on its FAIR Plan page: "First, we recommend you shop the market," and if you must apply, "we recommend you contact a licensed insurance broker that is registered to sell FAIR Plan coverage." The FAIR Plan says the same from its side: its representatives "legally cannot provide you advice on your coverages or limits — a licensed broker can," and "If coverage is available in the traditional marketplace, the California FAIR Plan is not right for you."

Pending on the read date

The Department's September 2, 2026 release lists ten Commissioner-sponsored bills at the Governor's desk, including AB 1680, the Make It FAIR Act, which "would require the FAIR Plan's insurance company-run governing board to implement recommendations issued by the Insurance Commissioner." The Department's February 2, 2026 announcement of that bill states its case: "Current FAIR Plan residential policyholders must buy a separate insurance policy — at an additional cost — to have coverage for water damage, liability if someone is injured on their property, and other standard coverages." The release says "The Governor has until September 30, 2026, to sign or veto." None of it is law on the read date.

The Bottom Line

The FAIR Plan is larger than it has ever been by its own table, its rate filing is described as pending in its own January slides, its dwelling policy is named-peril with a $3 million ceiling, and the comprehensive option the Department ordered in 2019 is still "in progress" on the Department's page. What that means for you is that a FAIR Plan declarations page is half of a file, and the other half, the DIC, has to be read against it. If you were moved to the FAIR Plan this year, have both pages read together, check the combined total against the ceiling, and put the address back in front of the voluntary market at every renewal.

This article is for general educational purposes and is not legal advice. Figures are quoted from the sources below as printed on September 13, 2026.

Send us both pages. A licensed broker reads your FAIR Plan and DIC declarations pages together and tells you, plainly, what would change and what would not. Start your quote → or read what to do when a non-renewal letter arrives.

Primary Sources and Further Reading