Staggering surge in California insurance costs seen across state as new map reveals hardest hit areas

Homeowners in California are getting beat up by staggering insurance costs and a new map proves that the hardest hit areas are the ones with the highest wildfire risk.

A new report from Stanford University’s Climate and Energy Policy Program proves what residents in the Golden State have been saying, that in order to insure their homes the average homeowner is paying a whopping 84% more per year than they did in 2020.

Between 2020 and 2026, the average monthly insurance premium jumped up $90 a month, per the study.

“During this same period, average deductibles rose from $1,813 to $2,553, a trend consistent with the financial pressures facing homeowners and the competitive environment for insurers managing rising premiums,” the report read.

Unsurprisingly, the biggest spikes occurred in the areas of the state with the highest wildfire risk.

One map really drives the point home, showing that there was a 100% increase in portions of the state that have been ravaged by fire, including the Sierra Nevada and its foothill communities and huge swaths of Los Angeles county affected by the 2025 wildfires, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

In Mariposa County, insurance premiums increased by nearly 150%. In one Northern California community of Loch Lomond, homeowner premiums increased by over 200%.

In Southern California things were just as bad for those living in Pine Cove in Riverside County where their insurance jumped by more than 200%. And in the San Bernardino County mountain community of Mt. Baldy, homeowners have had their insurance increase by an astronomical amount of 350%.

Huge sections of the rest of the state also saw their insurance premiums go up anywhere from 80-100% since 2020.

The research was compiled by gathering information from mortgage lenders to see how premiums increased through the state’s FAIR Plan and major insurers in the market.

FAIR — the state’s insurance program — provides basic fire coverage for those in California with “high risk properties” that traditional insurers won’t cover.

The study found that due to the “increasing wildfire-related losses and regulatory pricing frictions, admitted lines insurers are writing fewer policies in more dangerous areas.”

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And these insurance agencies are doing that by either not renewing their customers, “ceasing to write new business, or both,” per the study. The biggest insurers who significantly decreased writing policies in the state over the last six years include Farmers Insurance, Allstate, and State Farms.

Because of this, the state’s insurer’s shares have increased over time as homeowners in fire-prone areas have no other options but to turn to the state for coverage.

While the study found that the average policy cost has been steadily increasing over the last six years, the state’s FAIR plan rise and fall in policy costs has been much more dramatic.

“The FAIR Plan experienced a sharp 353% increase in policy costs between 2018 and 2023, followed by a decline starting in 2023,” the report read.

Digging into the numbers, it shows that for residents living in the Palisades, their FAIR plan average monthly premium shot up from $6,500 in 2025 to an projected premium of $9,000 in 2026. In Malibu, the cost is estimated to have jumped from $8,000 to $11,000. 

In another part of LA hit hard by the wildfires, Altadena homeowners have seen their plan go from $3,300 last year to a projected $4,500 this year.

In conclusion, the report found that homeowners are struggling to find affordable coverage with increasing average monthly premiums and deductibles, especially for high-risk areas.”

The California Post reached out to the department of insurance for further comment.