Homeowners Insurance in California
California homeowners insurance runs genuinely below the national average on a statewide blended basis -- but this record discloses the real, current, and consequential wildfire-insurance crisis this average conceals, plus a separate, real earthquake-risk gap.
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Learn moreAverage premiums, disclosed honestly alongside the real crisis behind them
California's statewide blended average annual homeowners premium runs a real, disclosed range of roughly $1,324-$1,900 depending on source and coverage level, with $1,413/year (LendingTree, 2026) a commonly cited figure -- genuinely below the $2,395 national average. Rates are also rising fast even on this blended basis: roughly 16% in 2026 alone, among the steepest increases nationally, with cumulative increases since 2020 running roughly 53.7%.
The wildfire-insurance crisis is real, current, and consequential
State Farm stopped accepting new California homeowners applications in May 2023; Allstate paused new homeowners business in late 2022 and had not confirmed an active, filed-and-approved rate under the state's new Sustainable Insurance Strategy as of May 2026; Farmers has its own new-business restrictions. This has pushed a rapidly growing number of owners in high-risk areas onto the California FAIR Plan -- the state's insurer of last resort -- which grew from roughly 124,000 policies (2019) to roughly 684,000-697,000 policies in force by 2026, carrying $750-768 billion in total exposure. The January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires alone generated an estimated $4 billion in FAIR Plan losses, forcing a $1 billion assessment on member insurers and a CDI-approved 29.1% FAIR Plan rate increase.
Earthquake risk is real, separate, and NOT covered by a standard policy
California's San Andreas Fault and other active faults produce genuine, statewide earthquake risk that a standard homeowners policy excludes entirely. Earthquake coverage is a real, opt-in product overwhelmingly written through the California Earthquake Authority (CEA, roughly 67% market share) -- yet only roughly 13-16% of California homeowners actually carry it, despite USGS estimating a 72% probability of a magnitude 6.7+ earthquake hitting the Bay Area, and a 60% probability for Southern California, before 2043.
What this means for your specific property search
Get a real insurance quote for your SPECIFIC target property -- including standard-market availability, FAIR Plan eligibility if needed, and a separate CEA earthquake-coverage quote if you want that protection -- before finalizing any California home purchase. The statewide averages above genuinely do not apply to a mapped high wildfire-risk property.
Key takeaways
- Statewide blended average premiums run $1,324-$1,900/year (2026), genuinely below the $2,395 national average -- but rising fast (~16% in 2026 alone).
- A real, current wildfire-insurance crisis has pushed major carriers (State Farm, Allstate, Farmers) to restrict or stop new homeowners business in high-risk areas, driving FAIR Plan enrollment to roughly 684,000-697,000 policies by 2026.
- Earthquake risk is real and statewide but NOT covered by a standard policy -- only roughly 13-16% of California homeowners carry the separate, opt-in CEA earthquake coverage.
- Get a real, property-specific insurance quote (standard market, FAIR Plan eligibility, and CEA earthquake coverage) before finalizing any purchase.
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