California's FAIR Plan raised average rates 29.1% effective October 15, 2026. As of September 2026, the Plan carried 698,307 dwelling and commercial policies and roughly $773 billion in total exposure, up about 252% since September 2022. For Peninsula buyers and sellers, the practical effect is that insurance availability and cost have become part of the transaction itself, not a detail you sort out after you're in escrow, especially on higher-value homes and anywhere with wildfire exposure.

Kat Bedbury and The Bedbury Group | November 12, 2026

There was a time when homeowners insurance was something buyers arranged once they were already in escrow. That's changed. Today it's a conversation worth having while you're still evaluating the property.

I'm not an insurance broker, and nothing here is insurance, legal, or financial advice. But insurance has become part of nearly every transaction I work on lately, so here's what's actually happening and what it means depending on which side of the deal you're on.

What Changed With California's FAIR Plan in 2026

The California FAIR Plan, the state's insurer of last resort for homeowners who can't find coverage in the standard market, raised its average rates 29.1% starting October 15, 2026. The Plan had originally requested a steeper 35.8% increase; the approved figure came in lower after state review.

That 29.1% is an average. It doesn't mean every policyholder's bill went up by the same amount. Homeowners in higher wildfire-risk areas are generally seeing larger increases, while some in lower-risk, more urban areas may see smaller changes or even a decrease. If you're on the FAIR Plan, the only way to know your actual number is to look at your own renewal notice.

A few figures from the Plan's own published statistics, as of September 2026, put the bigger picture in context:

• 698,307 dwelling and commercial policies were in force. That figure covers both residential and commercial policies, not households specifically, since a single household can hold more than one policy and the total also includes commercial coverage.

• Total insured exposure reached roughly $773 billion, up about 252% since September 2022.

• That growth is the underlying reason rates keep climbing. The Plan is insuring far more risk than it used to, without a cash position anywhere near that size.

Those numbers point to something bigger than any one homeowner's premium: more Californians are relying on the FAIR Plan because traditional insurers have gotten more selective about which properties they'll cover, and that's increasingly true well beyond the mountains and classic wildfire country. It's relevant throughout the Bay Area, including parts of the Peninsula and Silicon Valley.

Why This Matters If You're Buying

When we're helping buyers evaluate a home in San Carlos, Redwood City, Belmont, Hillsborough, Woodside, or elsewhere on the Peninsula, we want them looking past the asking price to what it will actually cost to insure and protect the home. Three questions are worth asking early, ideally before you remove contingencies, not after.

Can the property actually be insured? Not every home has the same options. Some qualify for standard homeowners insurance. Others may need FAIR Plan coverage, sometimes combined with an additional policy for the risks the FAIR Plan doesn't cover. Location, construction, surrounding vegetation, and wildfire exposure all factor into underwriting. Being in a designated fire hazard zone doesn't automatically mean a home is uninsurable, but it does mean you should start the insurance conversation while you're still evaluating the property.

What will it actually cost? A home can fit your budget on paper and still come with insurance costs that change the math. Ask a licensed broker for a property-specific quote, not just a ballpark estimate, and confirm whether coverage can actually be bound within your contract timeline. Lenders require proof of adequate insurance to fund a loan, so a slow insurance search can become a real timeline risk.

Will the coverage be enough? This matters most on higher-value homes. The FAIR Plan caps residential coverage at $3 million per location, a limit that's been in place since 2019. Here's the distinction that's easy to miss: a home's market value and what it would actually cost to rebuild are not the same number. A $4 million purchase doesn't automatically need $4 million in dwelling coverage, since land value is part of the purchase price but isn't something a dwelling policy insures. What matters is the rebuild cost, which a qualified insurance professional needs to calculate directly.

It's also worth being precise about what fills which gap. A Difference-in-Conditions, or DIC, policy is often paired with FAIR Plan coverage, but it's not a fire-coverage top-up. A DIC policy generally covers the risks the FAIR Plan excludes entirely, things like water damage, theft, and liability. It doesn't by itself solve a shortfall in fire coverage above the FAIR Plan's limit. If a home's rebuild cost genuinely exceeds $3 million, closing that specific gap for fire typically means a separate excess layer from a surplus-lines carrier, and availability and terms vary by property. Confirm this directly with your broker rather than assuming a DIC policy has you covered.

Why This Matters If You're Selling

Picture this: you've prepared your home well, priced it right, and you're in escrow with a buyer you're glad to have. Then the buyer finds out mid-escrow that insurance costs more than expected, or is hard to get at all. That's a problem that didn't need to show up this late.

We've started treating insurance as part of listing preparation, not just buyer due diligence, particularly for properties with any wildfire exposure.

Before a home goes to market, it's worth understanding whether anything about the property could affect a buyer's ability to get insurance, and reviewing the natural hazard disclosures and fire hazard designation that will come up during the transaction anyway. California law requires sellers to disclose when a property sits within certain state-designated hazard zones, including fire hazard severity zones, as part of the standard transfer disclosure process. Getting ahead of it isn't about creating alarm. It's about leaving fewer surprises for escrow, which protects the deal for everyone at the table.

How Do You Know If a Specific Peninsula Property Is in a Fire Hazard Zone?

California's Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps classify areas as moderate, high, or very high hazard, based on vegetation, terrain, fire weather, and expected fire behavior over a long time horizon. On their own, the maps don't determine what an insurer will charge or whether it will offer coverage at all, but they do drive the disclosure requirement and often factor into underwriting.

CAL FIRE released updated maps in 2025, and local adoption has been moving forward since. San Mateo County's Board of Supervisors adopted the updated designations for the county fire department's jurisdiction on August 12, 2025, after introducing the ordinance in June. San Mateo Consolidated Fire, which serves the City of San Mateo and Belmont, adopted its own version in May 2025. That's a real update from where things stood earlier in the process, but adoption timelines vary by city and fire agency, so don't assume one city's status tells you about the next one over.

The practical approach:

• For land in a State Responsibility Area, CAL FIRE's own statewide tool lets you search by address directly (osfm.fire.ca.gov/fhsz).

• For land inside most incorporated Peninsula cities, which are Local Responsibility Areas, that statewide tool will point you to the city or county fire department instead. San Mateo County's planning department maintains its own fire hazard zone resource (smcgov.org/planning/san-mateo-county-hazards-fire-severity-zones) as a starting point.

• Either way, check the specific property rather than assuming based on the neighborhood's reputation or an older map you remember. Homes with no fire history can still sit inside a high or very high zone on the current maps, since the zones are based on conditions, not past fires alone.

Can You Lower Your Insurance Costs?

Possibly, and it's worth asking. California's Department of Insurance has required, since 2022 under its "Safer from Wildfires" framework, that insurers offer discounts tied to specific wildfire mitigation steps, things like removing combustible material near the home, improving defensible space, or installing ember-resistant features. Discounts vary by insurer and property, and completing mitigation work doesn't guarantee coverage will be available or exactly how much a premium will drop.

If you currently have FAIR Plan coverage, ask your broker directly whether any mitigation discounts apply to your property and whether private-market options have opened back up for it. That second question is worth revisiting periodically, since the standard market has been shifting.

What You Can Do About It Right Now

Whether you're buying, selling, or staying put, the same steps apply:

1. Check the property's fire hazard zone status with the right source, the state's own tool for State Responsibility Area land, and the city or county directly for most incorporated Peninsula addresses.

2. Talk to a licensed insurance broker early, with a specific property in mind, and ask directly about rebuild cost, FAIR Plan limits, and whether a DIC policy or a separate excess layer is the right fit.

3. Loop in your lender on the insurance timeline, so financing and insurance move on the same clock instead of insurance becoming a last-minute scramble before closing.

This is a genuinely unsettled area of the market right now, and it's changing month to month. If you're weighing a purchase or a listing and want to talk through what this actually looks like for a specific property, that's worth doing before you're deep into a transaction, not during it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much did California's FAIR Plan insurance increase in 2026?

The FAIR Plan implemented an average 29.1% rate increase effective October 15, 2026, after requesting a larger 35.8% increase. Individual changes vary significantly by property, wildfire exposure, and other rating factors, so an average doesn't tell you what you'll actually pay.

Does the FAIR Plan cover homes worth more than $3 million?

The FAIR Plan caps residential coverage at $3 million per location, a limit in place since 2019. A home's market value doesn't automatically determine how much dwelling coverage it needs, since insurance is based on rebuild cost, not purchase price. If rebuild cost genuinely exceeds the cap, closing that gap for fire specifically typically requires a separate excess layer from a surplus-lines carrier, not a Difference-in-Conditions policy, which covers other risks like water damage, theft, and liability instead.

Can I buy a home in San Mateo County if it only qualifies for FAIR Plan coverage?

Often yes, but confirm the coverage amount is adequate for the home's rebuild cost, and check your lender's specific insurance requirements before you're deep into escrow. Lenders require proof of adequate insurance to fund a loan, so this is worth sorting out early rather than during your final week before closing.

How do I know if a specific Peninsula property is in a fire hazard zone?

It depends on whether the property sits in a State Responsibility Area or a Local Responsibility Area. CAL FIRE's statewide tool supports direct address lookup for State Responsibility Area land. Most incorporated Peninsula cities are Local Responsibility Areas, where you'll want to check with the city or county fire department. San Mateo County adopted its updated designations in August 2025, though adoption timelines vary by city, so confirm the current status for the specific address.

Does a high fire hazard designation mean a home can't get insurance?

No. A fire hazard designation is a meaningful underwriting factor, and it triggers a disclosure requirement at sale, but it doesn't by itself determine whether a property can be insured. A licensed broker can tell you which carriers and coverage options are actually available for a specific property.

If insurance is part of what's making you pause on a purchase or a listing right now, let's talk through it before you have to make a decision you can't easily undo. Reach out to Kat Bedbury and The Bedbury Group anytime, whether you're buying, selling, or just trying to understand what a specific property's insurance situation would actually look like.

Who You're Working With

Kat Bedbury is a top-producing Peninsula Realtor® with Golden Gate Sotheby's International Realty and co-founder of the Bedbury Group. She helps buyers and sellers throughout San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties navigate real estate with thoughtful strategy, local expertise, and hands-on guidance from preparation through closing.

Your Dreams, Non-Negotiable®

This post is for general informational purposes only and is not insurance, legal, tax, or financial advice. Insurance availability, pricing, and coverage requirements vary by property and change frequently. Please consult a licensed insurance broker, your lender, and other qualified professionals for guidance specific to your situation.