The Golden State is home to over 39 million Americans and everything else you can imagine, from Disneyland to sports teams in every major league, primo beaches, and Hollywood—all under one state flag! With so many Americans calling California home, it makes sense that insurers offer competitive premiums and desirable home insurance options.
So, if you’ve been shopping around for home insurance, keep reading to discover the best homeowners insurance in California.
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If you need a mortgage on your house, you’ll most likely need to take out home insurance as part of your lender’s agreement. Interestingly, the Golden State only requires homeowners to take out hazard insurance—a component of home insurance—on their dwelling.
However, legally, you don’t have to take out home insurance if you do not need a mortgage. It may seem tempting for some to forgo home insurance, but do you really want to gamble with your financial future? For example, if a severe storm whips through your town and damages your house without home insurance, you’ll pay out of pocket for repairs. Home insurance shields you from that, and more.
You can read more about mortgages and home insurance requirements here.
Californians can’t get enough of the cerulean skies and the endless nice weather. However, the price tag for all this sunshine is a variety of risks—or perils—that threaten the integrity of your home.
These are the perils that California is vulnerable to:
Earthquakes
California is sitting cozy near the San Andreas fault line, meaning the state is prone to earthquakes. Unfortunately, traditional home insurance like HO3 policies don’t cover earthquakes. If you, like many Californians, want to protect your house from earthquake damages, then you can take out earthquake home insurance through:
Earthquake insurance is extra, but it’s well worth the price for many Californians. And stay tuned, because we’ll show you how to get affordable home insurance in California no matter what policy you have.
Flooding
Another peril California regularly experiences is flooding, thanks to its picturesque coasts and valleys. But like earthquakes, flooding is not covered by traditional home insurance policies. So, if you want to protect your most expensive investment from flooding damages, then you must take out separate flooding insurance through your insurer or the National Flood Insurance Program.
Wildfires
Traditional home insurance policies offer protection against fire damage (fire and smoke damage), unless you live in a county that’s prone to wildfires. But unlike earthquakes and flooding, you cannot take out an additional policy if you live in a high-risk county.
Fortunately, if you live in a county prone to wildfires and have trouble finding home insurance, you can take out a policy through California’s FAIR Plan. Unfortunately, FAIR Plans are a last resort as they offer limited coverage on only four perils: fire, internal explosions, lightning, and smoke. There is a motion to force FAIR Plans to become comprehensive like traditional home insurance policies, but in the interim, there’s a “difference in conditions policy” to bridge the gap.
Another thing for Californians to consider is that many insurers offer discounts if you take steps to improve your home’s fire resistance, such as using fire-resistant roofing materials or clearing vegetation near your dwelling.
Traditional home insurance covers many perils that threaten the integrity of your home, like fires. But, since not every danger is covered by conventional insurance policies, it means you want to know what your home insurance policy protects against.
There are two primary types of home insurance: HO1, which offers limited protection against 10 named perils, and HO2, HO3, and HO5 policies, which offer much more dynamic coverage against 16 named perils.
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These traditional home insurance policies offer protection against the same 10 perils that an HO1 plan covers, in addition to these 6 perils:
It’s important to note that regardless of which insurance plan you purchase, they do not protect against earthquakes, flooding, or wildfires—all well-known California threats. If your county is particularly vulnerable to one of these perils or you wish to protect yourself from paying out of pocket for non-covered damages, you should consider taking out an additional earthquake, flooding, or wildfire plan.
There are some common perils that your traditional homeowner’s insurance in California won’t cover regardless of which policy you take out, whether it’s an HO1 or HO3 plan.
These are the perils your home insurance plan won’t cover:
You’ll notice that earthquakes and flooding make the exclusion list, but wildfires aren’t on the list. For earthquakes and flooding, you’ll need a separate insurance plan, whereas your home insurance partially covers wildfires—unless you live in an area prone to them, in which case you can try a FAIR plan.
When we say home insurance in the Golden State covers damages to your home, what exactly does that mean? One factor all home insurance policies have in common is that if a peril like lightning damages your dwelling, you place a claim and your plan will cover the repair or replacement costs.
Here’s what your home insurance plan covers:
Remember, with many home insurance policies available, every plan offers different coverage limits, rules, or exemptions. For instance, an HO1 policy only protects your dwelling, so if you want total coverage, you’ll want a more robust plan like HO3 insurance.
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California is home to the most national parks in the country, in one of which lives “General Sherman,” the most voluptuous tree in the world with a circumference of 102.6 feet in Sequoia National Park. Whether you live near dear old Sherman or the ocean, all residents want the best home insurance.
And the news is good: the average cost of home insurance in California is around $1,300 per year for $300,000 in dwelling coverage, coming in at less than the national average.
Cruise the Pacific Coast Highway and take in the ocean views before you explore your home insurance options. You don’t want to regret taking out the wrong coverage for your home in Riverside or Ventura County because you’re in a rush.
These are the house insurance options in California:
This should help you narrow your search to find the right policy for you. If you live in a typical home, opt for HO3 or HO5 insurance if possible.
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The Golden State is home to millions of Americans, and with so many homes (condo, apartment, house, and mobile homes) to choose from, there is a need to find the best homeowners insurance in California. Finding the best home insurance is a matter of pairing your dwelling (such as a condo) with the right coverage (like HO6), and capitalizing on every available discount to drive down your premiums.
But perhaps the two important things to consider are:
If you’re ready to get down to business, go ahead and get access to free quotes here.
When it matters, we’ve got you covered.
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Lauren Lewthwaite Lauren Lewthwaite has been freelance writing for almost five years writing content that ranges from health to insurance and everything in between. Lauren is also a trained translator in French and English and is a dog-mom to an adorable Australian Shepherd.
