California • Insurance non-renewal or spike
Your California condo insurance was dropped after the wildfires — what now?
California's condo-insurance market changed almost overnight after the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires. Carriers retreated, the FAIR Plan swelled, and master-policy renewals arrived with eye-watering increases.
The short answer
After the January 2025 LA wildfires, major carriers paused California homeowner business and master-policy premiums commonly rose 100–500% at a single renewal. The FAIR Plan levied a $1 billion assessment — its first in 30+ years. CondoSignal reads your master policy and HO-6 against California's market to find where your exposure really is. Free.California at a glance
Premium spikes
100–500%
Common at a single renewal post-2025 fires.
FAIR Plan
$1B assessment
First member assessment in 30+ years.
Deductible cap
$50,000
Above this blocks Fannie/Freddie financing.
Usually excluded
Quake & flood
Not in most master policies.
Why carriers retreated
After roughly $4 billion in 2025 fire losses, major carriers paused or restricted writing California homeowner business, and the California FAIR Plan — the insurer of last resort — surged. In 2025 the FAIR Plan levied a $1 billion member assessment, its first in over 30 years. A temporary Commercial High-Value program was created specifically because conventional HOA/condo master coverage became scarce. A non-renewal in this environment is a market event, not a judgment on your board.
Where your exposure is
The gaps that matter: a master policy now placed with the FAIR Plan (narrower coverage), a per-unit deductible above $50,000 (which blocks Fannie/Freddie financing and can shrink your resale pool), and the standard exclusions — earthquake and flood are typically not in the master policy at all. Premiums rising 100–500% also tend to arrive as special assessments and dues increases, so the insurance problem and the assessment problem are usually the same problem.
What to check on your HO-6
When the master policy narrows, more risk lands on your individual HO-6 — so confirm your loss-assessment coverage limit and whether you carry earthquake (via the California Earthquake Authority) and flood separately. The annual budget report and § 5810 change notices are where the association must disclose material policy changes and lapses; reading them against your HO-6 shows the true size of the gap.
Your rights in California
As a California owner you're entitled to the annual insurance disclosure in the budget report and to notice of a master-policy lapse or material change 'as soon as reasonably practicable' (§ 5810). Insurance-driven special assessments above 5% of the budget still require a member vote unless a documented emergency applies (§ 5605). None of this is legal advice — confirm against the current Civil Code and a California-licensed broker.
What to check
- Establish whether the master policy or your HO-6 was non-renewed.
- Check whether the master policy moved to the FAIR Plan.
- Find the per-unit deductible and whether it exceeds $50,000.
- Confirm your HO-6 loss-assessment limit.
- Check whether you carry earthquake (CEA) and flood separately.
- Watch for an insurance-driven special assessment and whether it needed a vote.
Sources
- CDI Bulletin 2025-4 — FAIR Plan $1B assessment(High)
- CDI Release 028-2025 — FAIR Plan Commercial High-Value policy(High)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 5605 — assessment limits(High)
Educational only — not legal, financial, or engineering advice. Confirm against the current statute and, where it matters, a California-licensed professional.
Related guide
California insurance risk — the full guide →This page answers what to do right now. For how insurance risk works in California — the law, the process, and what to check before you buy or sell — read the full state guide.
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“The board approved a $15,000-per-unit special assessment for façade repairs, payable over 12 months.”
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