25 California Homeowners Insurance Statistics for 2026: Cost, Losses and the FAIR Plan
California homeowners insurance in 25 cited statistics: NAIC average premiums by policy form, CDI premium, loss ratio and market share data through 2025, and California FAIR Plan policy growth through June 2026.
California’s average homeowners premium still sits close to the national mean, but the market behind that average is under more strain than almost anywhere in the country. This report gathers 25 cited statistics on what homeowners insurance costs in California, how large the market is, how 2025’s losses compared with premium, which insurer groups write the most business, and how fast the California FAIR Plan has grown. Every figure comes from the NAIC, the California Department of Insurance (CDI), the California FAIR Plan, AM Best or J.D. Power, never a sales page.
Key Takeaways
- California HO-3 averaged $1,655 - the NAIC’s 2023 exposure-weighted HO-3 average in California was $1,655, about 5% below the $1,737 countrywide average.
- Losses were 170% of premium in 2025 - California homeowners insurers incurred $26.3 billion of losses on $15.5 billion of earned premium, a 170.23% loss ratio.
- Written premium more than doubled since 2017 - homeowners premium written in California rose from $7.76 billion in 2017 to $16.43 billion in 2025.
- Two groups write a third of the market - State Farm wrote 20.09% and Farmers 15.43% of California homeowners premium in 2025.
- The FAIR Plan grew 157% in under four years - the California FAIR Plan had 696,562 policies in force in June 2026, up from September 2022.
- Renters are a bigger share of the market - 38.1% of California’s insured house-years were renters and condo policies in 2023, versus 28.6% countrywide.
What homeowners insurance costs in California
1. California’s average HO-3 premium was $1,655 in 2023
The HO-3 is the standard owner-occupied homeowners form. In the NAIC’s Dwelling Fire and Homeowners report for 2023 data, California’s exposure-weighted HO-3 average premium was $1,655. That figure divides total premium by house-years across all coverage amounts and insurers. It is not a quote for any ZIP code, and it reflects 2023 rates, before the large 2025 loss year. The report covering 2023 data was published in 2026, so these averages are best used to compare states and policy forms rather than to predict a 2026 renewal.
2. That was about 5% below the $1,737 countrywide HO-3 average
The same NAIC table puts the countrywide HO-3 average at $1,737. California’s average was $82, or 4.7%, lower. A state average near the national mean does not mean every California home is priced like the median: wildfire-exposed ZIP codes, high rebuild costs and FAIR Plan placements all sit well outside it.
3. All owner-occupied forms averaged $1,675
When the NAIC combines dwelling fire with every owner-occupied homeowners form in California, the average premium was $1,675 in 2023, compared with $1,731 countrywide. The HO-3 made up 79.6% of those California exposures.
4. California’s HO-5 share is above the national share
The broader HO-5 form, which the NAIC describes as “all-risks” coverage on both buildings and personal property, made up 15.1% of California’s owner-occupied and dwelling fire exposures in 2023, versus 11.7% countrywide, per the NAIC report. California HO-5 policies averaged $1,770, below the $1,891 countrywide HO-5 average.
5. Million-dollar homes averaged $4,033 on an HO-3
Coverage amount moves premium more than any other line in the NAIC tables. California HO-3 policies with $1 million or more of coverage averaged $4,033 in 2023, against $1,142 at $350,000 to $399,999 and $1,508 at $500,000 to $599,999. Owners of high-value homes should expect quotes far above the statewide mean.
6. California dwelling fire averaged $1,697, 66% above the U.S.
Dwelling fire policies, a narrower form that the NAIC tracks for one-family owner-occupied homes, averaged $1,697 in California in 2023, compared with $1,019 countrywide. The NAIC notes dwelling fire figures are not directly comparable with homeowners averages. For what landlords pay, including FAIR Plan rental data, see our California landlord insurance cost guide.
7. Condo owners paid $722 and renters $171
California HO-6 condo policies averaged $722 in 2023, above the $658 countrywide average. HO-4 renters policies averaged $171, almost identical to the $173 countrywide figure. Renters coverage is priced mainly on belongings and liability, so it does not carry the rebuild-cost load that drives homeowners premiums.
How big California’s home insurance market is
8. California had 10.6 million insured house-years in 2023
The NAIC counted 10,604,023 California house-years across dwelling fire, owner-occupied and renters/condo policies in 2023, 10.4% of the 101,954,896 counted nationwide. A house-year is one policy insured for a full year. With roughly one in ten U.S. house-years, California’s averages carry real weight in the countrywide figures that national articles quote.
9. 38.1% of California policies were renters or condo forms
Renters and condo policies made up 38.1% of California’s insured house-years in 2023, versus 28.6% countrywide. Owner-occupied homeowners forms were 58.8% and dwelling fire 3.1%. A larger renters-and-condo share means more HO-4 and HO-6 policies relative to HO-3s, and more households whose building is insured by someone else.
- Owner-occupied homeowners 59%
- Renters and condo 38%
- Dwelling fire 3%
10. California holds a quarter of U.S. dwelling fire premium
California’s 329,585 dwelling fire house-years were 15.6% of the U.S. total in 2023, and its $559 million of dwelling fire premium was 25.9% of the countrywide total, by our calculation from the NAIC tables. Dwelling fire made up 3.1% of California house-years, against 2.1% nationally.
11. California homeowners premium reached $16.43 billion in 2025
Licensed insurers wrote $16,430,576,535 of homeowners multiple-peril premium in California in 2025, according to the CDI’s 2025 premium and loss summary, which draws on the NAIC database. That was up 13.2% from $14.52 billion in 2024. Written premium measures what insurers charged in the year, so it grows with both rate increases and with the number and value of homes insured; it does not by itself show the average premium per policy.
12. Premium has more than doubled since 2017
The same CDI summary shows California homeowners written premium rising every year from $7.76 billion in 2017 to $16.43 billion in 2025, an increase of 111.7%. Premium was $9.77 billion in 2020, so the last five years alone added 68.2%.
Data
| 2017 | $7.76B |
|---|---|
| 2018 | $8.27B |
| 2019 | $9.00B |
| 2020 | $9.77B |
| 2021 | $10.91B |
| 2022 | $12.08B |
| 2023 | $13.22B |
| 2024 | $14.52B |
| 2025 | $16.43B |
Losses and loss ratios
13. Insurers paid out 170% of premium in 2025
California homeowners insurers incurred $26,339,121,596 of losses in 2025 on $15,473,044,842 of earned premium, a loss ratio of 170.23%. In other words, for every dollar of homeowners premium earned, insurers recorded about $1.70 of incurred losses, before any operating expenses.
14. 2024’s loss ratio was 49.17%
The year before, the same line ran a 49.17% loss ratio on $13.75 billion of earned premium. Loss ratios from 2019 through 2024 ranged between 32.66% and 63.34%, so 2025 stands out sharply.
15. 2017 and 2018 were the last comparable loss years
California’s homeowners loss ratio was 201.17% in 2017 and 170.08% in 2018, per the CDI’s historical summaries. Those two years and 2025 are the only years since 2017 in which homeowners losses exceeded premium in California. Premium kept rising through the low-loss years between those spikes, so the 2025 losses landed on a much larger premium base than 2017’s did.
16. The fire line ran a 138% loss ratio in 2025
The separate fire line, which includes dwelling fire policies, wrote $2.85 billion of premium in California in 2025 with a 138.20% loss ratio, compared with 28.79% in 2024.
17. 98 licensed companies wrote homeowners premium in 2025
The CDI counted 98 licensed companies writing homeowners multiple-peril premium in California in 2025, down from 101 in 2024, 105 in 2023 and 118 in 2021. Fewer writers means fewer places to shop when a policy is not renewed. The count reflects licensed companies reporting homeowners premium, not insurer groups, so one group can include several companies; the direction of travel is still clear.
Who writes California homeowners insurance
18. State Farm wrote 20.09% of the market
State Farm Group wrote $3.30 billion of California homeowners premium in 2025, a 20.09% statewide share, the largest of any group, per the CDI’s 2025 market share pages. Nationally, State Farm’s core companies hold an AM Best rating of A+ (Superior) after a November 2025 downgrade from A++.
19. Farmers was second at 15.43%
Farmers Insurance Group wrote $2.53 billion, or 15.43%, of California homeowners premium in 2025. Together, State Farm and Farmers wrote 35.5% of the state’s homeowners premium.
20. Six more groups each wrote 5% to 7.5%
After the top two, the CDI’s 2025 data shows Mercury General at 7.39%, Auto Club Enterprises at 6.64%, CSAA at 6.49%, USAA at 6.09%, Allstate at 5.77% and Liberty Mutual at 5.49%. American Family (4.12%), Travelers (4.04%), Chubb (2.01%) and Nationwide (1.38%) followed.
21. Loss ratios varied widely by group in 2025
Group-level 2025 homeowners loss ratios on the CDI pages ranged from 41.44% at CSAA and 78.03% at Farmers to 236.11% at State Farm, 231.15% at Travelers and 502.74% at Chubb. Where a carrier’s insured homes sat relative to 2025’s catastrophe losses shaped those results more than market share did. A loss ratio above 100% means losses incurred exceeded premium earned for that year on that line, before expenses, which is why rate filings and underwriting changes tend to follow.
The California FAIR Plan
22. The FAIR Plan had 696,562 policies in force in June 2026
The California FAIR Plan, the state’s insurer of last resort, reported 696,562 dwelling and commercial policies in force as of June 2026. That was up 8% since September 2025 and 157% since September 2022.
23. FAIR Plan exposure reached $768 billion
Total FAIR Plan exposure was $768 billion as of June 2026, up 11% since September 2025 and 250% since September 2022. Written premium was $2.04 billion, up 212% since September 2022.
24. 519,750 owner-occupied homes were on the FAIR Plan
The FAIR Plan’s residential policy count as of June 30, 2026 included 519,750 owner-occupied single-family homes, 117,196 tenant-occupied rentals, 18,186 condo unit owners and 8,088 renters, out of 665,862 residential policies. Of the owner-occupied homes, 41.6% sat in the plan’s high risk group. FAIR Plan dwelling coverage is named-peril (fire, lightning, internal explosion and smoke), and liability or water damage needs a separate Difference in Conditions policy.
25. FAIR Plan new business slowed 25% in fiscal 2026
The FAIR Plan wrote 151,061 new policies from October 2025 through June 2026, a monthly average of 16,784. That monthly pace was 25% lower than in fiscal 2025 but still 208% above the September 2022 level. The CDI notes FAIR Plan residential limits now reach $3 million and that the plan offers Safer from Wildfires discounts for hardened homes.
What these statistics mean for California homeowners
- Expect renewal pressure. A 170% loss ratio in 2025 follows years of premium growth; insurers file rate changes with the CDI after years like that.
- Insure to rebuild cost. The NAIC bands show premium tracks coverage amount. Get a rebuild estimate before renewal, and see our homeowners insurance cost, Texas homeowners insurance statistics, South Carolina homeowners insurance statistics and Colorado homeowners insurance statistics and Washington homeowners insurance statistics and Arkansas homeowners insurance statistics guides.
- Shop before the FAIR Plan. The CDI recommends shopping the market first. Compare carriers in our best homeowners insurance companies in California ranking, built on CDI complaint data, the national best homeowners insurance companies ranking and the carrier directory.
- Check claims service, not just price. In J.D. Power’s 2026 property claims study, Amica (773), The Hartford (756) and Chubb (744) led an industry average of 702.
- Price the extras separately. Earthquake, flood and liability above your home limits are separate decisions. See our earthquake insurance statistics, wildfire insurance statistics and best umbrella insurance companies.
- Compare locally. Our California pages for Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego and landlords statewide cover city context. When you are ready, request a quote.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is homeowners insurance in California?
The NAIC’s 2023 exposure-weighted average for California HO-3 policies was $1,655, compared with $1,737 countrywide. Million-dollar homes averaged $4,033. Your quote depends on rebuild cost, wildfire exposure, deductible, claims history and insurer underwriting.
Why is California home insurance getting harder to find?
CDI data show homeowners insurers incurred $26.3 billion of losses against $15.5 billion of earned premium in 2025, and the number of licensed companies writing homeowners premium fell from 118 in 2021 to 98 in 2025. Meanwhile the FAIR Plan’s policy count rose 157% from September 2022 to June 2026.
Who is the largest home insurer in California?
State Farm Group, with 20.09% of 2025 California homeowners written premium, followed by Farmers at 15.43% and Mercury General at 7.39%.
How many homes are on the California FAIR Plan?
As of June 30, 2026, the FAIR Plan reported 519,750 owner-occupied single-family policies and 117,196 tenant-occupied policies among 665,862 residential policies, and 696,562 total policies including commercial.
Does a California homeowners policy cover a rental property?
Not for a full-time rental. Rentals are written on landlord or dwelling forms instead. On the FAIR Plan, 117,196 tenant-occupied policies were in force on June 30, 2026. See our California landlord insurance cost guide and best landlord insurance companies.