You’re not dealing with a normal insurance market. Seven of the twelve largest carriers have stopped writing new homeowners insurance policies in California or severely limited what they’ll cover. That’s not a scare tactic—it’s where we are right now.
What you need is someone who knows how to get you covered when most agents are just handing out FAIR Plan applications and calling it a day. The FAIR Plan might keep you legal, but it won’t come close to covering what it costs to rebuild a home in Laguna Beach. Not when the median property value here is pushing $3.4 million and climbing.
Real coverage means your policy actually reflects what your home is worth. It means your high-end finishes, custom cabinetry, and designer fixtures are accounted for—not just some generic rebuild estimate that leaves you $500K short after a loss. It also means understanding that you’re in a Tier 3 extreme wildfire risk zone, and your policy needs to reflect that reality without pricing you out or leaving gaps that show up at the worst possible time.
We operate as an independent insurance broker, which means we’re not tied to one carrier. That matters more now than ever, especially in Orange County where options are shrinking fast and homeowners insurance rates are climbing double digits year over year.
We’ve built relationships with carriers who are still writing policies in high-risk coastal areas. We know which ones will actually cover a hillside property in Aliso Canyon, and which ones will lowball your dwelling limit or bury exclusions in the fine print. We also know how to layer coverage when one policy isn’t enough—because in Laguna Beach, it usually isn’t.
You’re not getting a call center or a quote bot. You’re working with an insurance agent who understands what it takes to protect a home in a place where wildfire, coastal erosion, and earthquake risk all overlap.
First, we look at your property. Not just the address—the actual risk profile. Where you sit relative to wildfire zones, whether you’ve done defensible space work, how old your roof is, what your home is worth to rebuild (not what Zillow says). That’s what carriers care about, so that’s where we start.
Then we go to market. We pull quotes from multiple insurance companies, including some you won’t find on your own. We’re looking at admitted carriers first, but if those don’t work or don’t pencil out, we know which excess and surplus lines carriers are writing in Laguna Beach and what their appetites look like right now.
Once we have options, we walk you through them. What each policy actually covers, where the gaps are, what endorsements you should add, and what you can skip. We’ll tell you if the FAIR Plan is your only option, but we’ll also tell you how to supplement it so you’re not sitting on $4 million in property value with $3 million in exposure. Then you decide, we bind the policy, and you’ve got coverage that actually works.
Ready to get started?
Your policy should cover your dwelling at full replacement cost—not market value, not some outdated estimate from three years ago. In Laguna Beach, that’s a big difference. Construction costs are higher here, and if you’re rebuilding after a wildfire, you’re competing with everyone else in the same situation. Your coverage limit needs to account for that.
You also need personal property coverage that reflects what’s actually in your home. If you’ve got designer furniture, art, jewelry, or high-end electronics, standard limits won’t cut it. We add scheduled personal property endorsements to make sure those items are specifically covered, with agreed value, so there’s no fight at claim time.
Liability coverage is another big one. In a neighborhood where your home is worth $3 million, your liability exposure is higher than average. We typically recommend at least $500K in liability coverage, often $1 million, and we’ll talk through whether an umbrella policy makes sense on top of that. Loss of use matters too—if your home is unlivable after a loss, your policy should cover your rent or hotel stay while repairs happen, and in this area, that’s not cheap.
Then there’s the stuff most people don’t think about until it’s too late. Flood insurance isn’t included in your homeowners policy, even if you’re near the coast. Earthquake coverage is separate too. We’ll walk through whether you need those based on your specific property and risk tolerance.
California is in the middle of an insurance crisis, and Laguna Beach is right in the crosshairs. You’ve got extreme wildfire risk, high property values, and coastal exposure all in one place. That’s a tough combination for carriers, and most of them have decided it’s not worth the risk.
State Farm, Allstate, and several other major insurance companies have stopped writing new homeowners insurance policies in California or pulled back significantly. The ones still writing are being extremely selective about what they’ll cover and where. If your home is in a high fire severity zone—which most of Laguna Beach is—you’re going to have a harder time finding coverage, and when you do, it’s going to cost more.
On top of that, California regulates how much carriers can raise rates, which sounds good until you realize it just makes carriers leave the market entirely instead. That’s why so many people are ending up on the FAIR Plan, which was only supposed to be a last resort. Now it’s become the default for a lot of homeowners, and that’s a problem because FAIR Plan coverage is bare bones and expensive.
The California FAIR Plan is the state’s insurer of last resort. It was created to provide basic fire coverage for people who can’t get it anywhere else. If you’ve been turned down by multiple carriers, the FAIR Plan will cover you—but it’s not a full homeowners insurance policy.
FAIR Plan only covers fire and limited perils. You’ll need a separate policy (called a difference-in-conditions policy or DIC) to cover everything else—theft, liability, water damage, wind, all the stuff a normal homeowners policy would include. So you’re juggling two policies instead of one, and the combined cost is usually higher than what you’d pay for a standard policy if you could still get one.
The other issue is coverage limits. FAIR Plan caps out at $3 million for your dwelling. If your home in Laguna Beach is worth more than that—and plenty are—you’re underinsured from day one. You can try to layer additional coverage on top, but that gets complicated and expensive fast. It’s not a great solution, but for some people, it’s the only one available right now. Our job is to exhaust every other option before we put you on the FAIR Plan.
You’re looking at somewhere between $618 and $835 per month on average, but that range is pretty wide depending on your specific situation. If your home is in a higher-risk wildfire area, if it’s older, if you haven’t updated your roof or done defensible space work, you’re going to be on the higher end or above it.
Home insurance costs in California have gone up 16.1% since 2023, and they’re projected to climb another 16% by the end of 2026. Some carriers are requesting rate increases of 30% or more. That’s not unique to Laguna Beach—it’s happening statewide—but it hits harder here because your baseline premiums are already higher due to wildfire risk and property values.
The good news is that rates can vary significantly between carriers, which is why working with an independent insurance broker matters. We can shop your policy across multiple insurance companies and find you the best combination of coverage and price. Sometimes we can save you a couple hundred dollars a month just by placing you with a different carrier that’s more competitive for your specific risk profile.
Yes. Neither one is covered under a standard homeowners insurance policy, and both are real risks in Laguna Beach.
Earthquake coverage is available as an endorsement to your homeowners policy or as a standalone policy through the California Earthquake Authority. Whether you need it depends on your risk tolerance and your finances. Laguna Beach isn’t right on top of a fault line, but you’re close enough to the San Andreas and other regional faults that a major quake could cause serious damage. If you couldn’t afford to rebuild or repair your home out of pocket after an earthquake, you should have the coverage.
Flood insurance is a different story. Most people think flood insurance is only for homes in FEMA flood zones, but that’s not true. Flooding can happen anywhere, especially in areas with heavy rain, hillside runoff, or coastal storm surge. Laguna Beach gets all three. Flood insurance is sold through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) or through private carriers, and it’s relatively affordable compared to your main homeowners policy—usually a few hundred dollars a year. If you’re near the coast or in a canyon where water runs downhill during storms, it’s worth having.
Non-renewals are way up in California. In 2022, non-renewals hit 13%, and State Farm alone non-renewed 70,000 policies. If it happens to you, your carrier has to give you at least 75 days’ notice, which gives you some time to find a replacement—but not a lot, and the market isn’t easy right now.
First thing: don’t panic, but don’t wait either. As soon as you get that non-renewal notice, start shopping. The closer you get to your cancellation date, the fewer options you’ll have, and you’ll end up paying more or settling for worse coverage. If you’re working with us, we’re already on it—pulling quotes, reaching out to carriers, finding out who’s willing to write your property.
If you can’t find a replacement policy in the standard market, we’ll look at excess and surplus lines carriers. These are non-admitted carriers that have more flexibility in what they can charge and what they’ll cover. They’re often more expensive, but they’re also more willing to take on higher-risk properties. If that doesn’t work, we’ll help you get set up on the FAIR Plan and layer a DIC policy on top so you’re fully covered. It’s not ideal, but it keeps you insured and keeps your mortgage lender happy.
There are a few things that actually move the needle. The biggest one is wildfire mitigation. If you create defensible space around your home—clearing brush, trimming trees, removing dead vegetation—you become less risky to insure, and some carriers will give you a discount for it. California now requires insurers to offer discounts for wildfire mitigation work, so if you’ve done the work, make sure your agent knows about it.
Upgrading your roof is another big one. A newer roof, especially one that’s fire-resistant or impact-resistant, can lower your premium significantly. Same goes for updating your electrical, plumbing, or heating systems if they’re old. Carriers charge more for homes with outdated systems because they’re more likely to have claims.
Raising your deductible will lower your premium, but make sure you can actually afford to pay that deductible if you have a claim. Going from a $2,500 deductible to a $5,000 deductible might save you $300 a year, but if you can’t come up with $5,000 after a loss, that’s a problem. Bundling your home and auto insurance with the same carrier usually gets you a discount too—typically 10% to 15% off each policy. And if you haven’t shopped your insurance in a few years, do it. Rates change, carriers change, and you might be paying way more than you need to just because you haven’t looked at other options.
Local Resources
Other Services we provide in Laguna Beach
