Homeowners' Insurance Update & Resources

Helpful Hints Debbie Carpenter December 14, 2025

Getting homeowners' insurance used to be "so simple a caveman could do it". No more! The biggest underwriters, including Allstate, State Farm, and Farmers have been frequently cancelling San Diego homeowner policies, and getting replacement insurance isn't quick and easy. So, if you get a letter from your insurance company - open it today!

For those of us who haven't been cancelled yet, premiums have been rising about 25% per year - per this Axios study

Many of our clients have found that using an insurance broker, such as Grant Mosely at Utopia Insurance, can deliver coverage when the big companies won't. They often bundle a hybrid policy that combines the California FAIR Plan (which covers fire and wind damage) with an additional policy that covers liability and the other risks.

If you do have a homeowners insurance policy, do consider paying a bit extra for "home protector plus" coverage endorsement which can add up to 50% more replacement cost coverage for only about 5% more in premiums. Replacement cost for a house can turn out to be a lot more than the nominally insured value due to code changes and rapidly increased cost of construction labor and materials, especially if the whole neighborhood burns down. Check out what USAA says here.

By the way, lenders require homeowner policies, so they won't let you close without it. But if you're paying "all cash" to buy a home, nobody has to remind you - so don't forget!

The best outcome, of course, is to never need insurance in the first place. See if your home is in a "high severity fire risk" zone by clicking here and entering your address. Recent fires have taught us much about home hardening, such as the vents in your attic that you never thought about before. Click Here to use a valuable self-assessment tool from Cal Fire.

Got more questions? We can help!