Wildfire & Brush — California
Carriers are re-underwriting whole ZIP codes, not individual accounts — a clean loss history does not protect you. We work the markets still writing in high-severity zones, challenge brush scores that are wrong, and document the mitigation that carriers are required to credit. Send the notice the day it arrives.
The sequence
Most of the value here is procedural rather than clever — moving early, correcting the record, and evidencing the work you have already done.
The 75-day statutory window is the asset. Every day spent waiting narrows the market that will still look at the risk before your expiration date.
Slope, vegetation class, distance to wildland, access, roof and vent construction. Scores are modelled from imagery that is often out of date — if yours predates your clearance work, that is a correctable error, not a fact.
Class A roof, ember-resistant vents, enclosed eaves, the cleared five-foot zone, and any Firewise community participation. Photographed, dated, and submitted with the application rather than mentioned in passing.
Admitted carriers first where the score allows, then specialist and E&S markets that price wildfire deliberately instead of avoiding it. The FAIR Plan is the backstop, quoted with a difference-in-conditions wrap — never on its own.
Read this before you renew
A clean loss history no longer protects a property in a high-severity zone. Carriers are re-underwriting geography, and the only levers left are the score, the mitigation record, and how early you start.
The 75-day window is the whole game. Free review, no obligation, response within one business day.
Send the noticeStart here
Tell us what you are insuring and where it stands. If there is a non-renewal notice or an escrow deadline, say so — those move to the front of the line.
Prefer to talk? Call or text (305) 990-2753 or email team@haymakersre.com
FAQ
Send it to us the day it arrives. California generally requires 75 days' notice of non-renewal, and that window is the entire difference between a placed policy and defaulting into the FAIR Plan. Do not wait for the expiration date — the options available at 75 days are materially better than the options available at 10.
Carriers score a property's wildfire exposure using vegetation density, slope, distance to wildland, access, and construction. Scores come from models and aerial imagery, so they are sometimes wrong — imagery predating your clearance work is a common cause. Documented mitigation and current photographs can get a score corrected, which often matters more than shopping the policy.
Under California's Safer from Wildfires framework, admitted carriers are required to recognise specific mitigations at both the property and community level — Class A roofing, ember-resistant vents, enclosed eaves, a cleared five-foot noncombustible zone against the structure, and participation in a recognised Firewise community. Discounts vary by carrier, but documenting work you have already done is usually the cheapest premium reduction available.
It depends on the form. Smoke is typically a covered peril, but many post-2023 forms added a separate smoke sublimit well below the dwelling limit, and some narrowed coverage for ash and particulate cleanup. This is one of the specific things we read for, because it reads as covered until it is claimed.
It is the backstop, not the first stop. We market the specialist and E&S carriers still writing in high-severity zones before defaulting to it. When the FAIR Plan genuinely is the answer, we pair it with a difference-in-conditions policy so you are not left without liability, theft, or water coverage — and we quote both together so you see the real combined cost. See our FAIR Plan alternatives page.
