California FAIR Plan Quote: How the Broker Application Works, Step by Step

You can't get a California FAIR Plan quote online. The plan takes applications from licensed brokers who have registered with it, and it expects the broker to search the regular market first.^[1][2] If you can't find a broker, the Department of Insurance says you can call the FAIR Plan at 800-339-4099.^[3] The broker may not charge you a fee for a FAIR Plan-only placement.^[4] Once an inspection report reaches the plan, it has three business days to tell you whether the home is eligible, eligible with a surcharge, or declined. It delivers the policy after you pay.^[5]

This guide walks through that process in the order it happens, using the plan's own Plan of Operation, the version the Insurance Commissioner approved on March 27, 2026.^[5] It covers what the broker needs from you, what can get a home declined, and what to arrange at the same time so you aren't left with only a fire policy. For what the policy itself covers and excludes, see our main California FAIR Plan guide.

Who can get me a California FAIR Plan quote?

A licensed broker who is registered with the FAIR Plan. Not every broker is. The plan's own site says so, and it points you to the broker finder on its home page.^[1][6] To register, a broker sends the plan a New Broker Information Form with a copy of a valid California property and casualty license. The plan takes up to three business days to verify it, then gives the broker access to the portal used to submit new business.^[2]

Menlo Insurance Services registered with the California FAIR Plan in September 2026, so we can now submit FAIR Plan applications ourselves. We hold California license #6020106.

The Department of Insurance also lists the plan's own number, 800-339-4099, as a way to apply.^[3] In practice you'll still want a broker. FAIR Plan staff can't advise you on coverages or limits, and the plan doesn't estimate what your home would cost to rebuild.^[1] Someone has to set the dwelling limit with you, and that person should be on your side.

Does a broker charge a fee for a FAIR Plan policy?

No. The Department of Insurance's residential guide says it is "illegal or improper for an insurance broker to charge you a fee for placing coverage solely with the California Automobile Assigned Risk Plan or the California FAIR Plan."^[4] The plan says the same thing more plainly: there's no additional cost for having a broker.^[1] The broker is paid a commission by the plan, set by the plan's Governing Committee and paid to the producer you designate on the application.^[5]

A fee can come into play only for other policies the broker places, such as the DIC wrap. If a broker asks for a fee, ask what it's for in writing.

What happens after I ask for a quote?

The steps below follow the Plan of Operation. The timings are the plan's written rules, not estimates.

1. The broker checks the regular market

   The plan tells brokers that, under the Insurance Code, a risk should be submitted to it only "after a diligent search of the normal insurance market has been made."^[2] One of the plan's statutory purposes is to keep as much business as possible with admitted insurers and surplus lines brokers.^[7] So the first thing a broker should do is quote you elsewhere. Start with a homeowners quote request so admitted and surplus lines carriers see the home first.

2. The broker submits the application through the portal

   Registered brokers submit and service FAIR Plan business through the plan's online broker portal.^[2] The application is the basis for accepting or rejecting coverage, and making sure it's accurate is your responsibility, not the broker's or the plan's.^[8]

3. The property may be inspected

   Anyone with an insurable interest in a California property can ask the plan for an inspection, at no cost, to find out whether the property is eligible or would be surcharged. The inspection report covers the structure, occupancy and general condition, may include photographs, and reaches the plan within five days after it's completed. You or your broker can ask for a copy.^[5]

4. The plan issues an action report within three business days

   Within three business days after it receives the inspection report, the plan must tell you one of three things: the risk is eligible (and, if it's surcharged, what would remove the surcharge); it will be eligible once you make the repairs listed and a reinspection confirms them; or it isn't eligible, with the reasons.^[5]

5. You pay and the policy is delivered

   If the plan accepts the risk, it delivers the policy once the premium is paid. Dwelling and commercial premiums can be paid in full or in monthly installments, by check, cashier's check, money order, credit card or electronic funds transfer.^[5] The plan's published payment options add a three-payment and an eleven-payment plan with a $4.50 fee per installment, no fee for ACH, and a 3.5 percent card fee.^[9] Policies run for one year.^[5]

Here's the same process as a checklist, with the rule behind each step:

What will the broker need from me?

The basics of the home, and honest answers about its condition. The plan's paper dwelling application (ACORD 854 CA, June 2020 edition) asks for the applicant and title holder, the property location, units, construction, occupancy, coverage limits and deductible, other structures with a value for each, and prior property damage.^[8] Brokers now submit through the portal, but the substance hasn't changed much. Have these ready:

• Who owns it. If you aren't the legal title holder, the application asks you to explain why.^[8]
• How it's built and used. Construction type, number of units, and whether you live there, rent it out, or use it seasonally. The dwelling program covers one-to-four-unit homes you live in, rentals, seasonal homes, renters' contents and condo units.^[6]
• What it would cost to rebuild. The plan doesn't estimate it, and it's up to you to decide the value.^[1] The 2020 checklist required current exterior photos and a rebuild estimate from a licensed contractor or appraiser when combined limits exceeded $1.5 million, with the dwelling limit at least equal to the estimate.^[8] Ask your broker whether that still applies to your limit.
• Any existing damage. The 2020 checklist asked for a signed repair contract from a licensed contractor if the home had unrepaired damage.^[8]
• Mortgage details. The lender usually needs to be listed and may set a minimum dwelling limit.

Tell your broker about wildfire hardening work at the same time. The plan offers up to 12 discounts on the wildfire portion of the premium for policies effective on or after November 15, 2025, and it sends policyholders to their broker to claim them.^[10]

Why would the FAIR Plan decline a home?

For what the property is, or how it's kept, not where it is. The Plan of Operation says neighborhood, location, or any hazard beyond the owner's control can't be used to decline or surcharge a risk.^[5] A home in the highest fire hazard zone is still eligible.

What the plan can do is refuse these eleven kinds of property outright:^[5]

Anything else can be accepted, but a home with substandard conditions may carry a surcharge. The plan names two kinds: physical problems that raise the risk of a covered loss, such as bad wiring, heating or construction, signs of past fires or general deterioration; and use or housekeeping problems, such as stored rubbish or flammable materials.^[5] Fix what the action report lists and the plan will reinspect or drop the surcharge.^[5]

If you're declined, the denial has to tell you that you can appeal. You appeal first to the plan's Governing Committee, then to the Insurance Commissioner within 30 days of the committee's decision.^[5]

What should I set up at the same time?

A DIC policy. The FAIR Plan dwelling policy covers fire, lightning, internal explosion and smoke, with vandalism available for extra premium.^[6] It doesn't cover liability, theft or water damage, and the plan doesn't sell the policy that does.^[11] Quote the DIC wrap with the same broker so the limits, deductibles and start dates line up. Our DIC insurance guide explains where the two policies can leave gaps, and our California DIC page shows who writes it.

Plan the exit too. Under Insurance Code section 10095, admitted insurers can review FAIR Plan policies through a clearinghouse and make offers, which reach you only through your broker of record.^[12] That's one more reason to pick the broker carefully: the broker on the policy is the one who hears about those offers. Our guide to the broker of record letter explains how to change brokers if you need to.

How much will the quote be?

We can't tell you until the plan prices the application, and there's no public calculator. The price depends mostly on the wildfire rating of the location, the dwelling limit, and which hardening discounts you earn. Rates are going up: the Department of Insurance approved a 29.1 percent average dwelling fire rate change in April 2026, and the plan has said it applies from October 15, 2026.^[13][14] Our guide to the 2026 FAIR Plan rate increase explains what moves the premium. When you compare quotes, add the DIC premium to the FAIR Plan premium and compare that total with any single policy you're offered.

This guide is for educational purposes and summarizes the California FAIR Plan's Plan of Operation (edition approved March 27, 2026), the plan's published pages, and California Department of Insurance guidance as of September 2026. Your policy's terms control. Menlo Insurance Services is a licensed California broker and may earn a commission on policies it places.

The Bottom Line

To get a California FAIR Plan quote, work with a broker who is registered with the plan. The broker should quote the regular market first, submit the FAIR Plan application through the portal, and quote a DIC wrap at the same time. It can't charge you a fee for the FAIR Plan policy. The plan answers within three business days of an inspection report, can't turn you down for where you live, and delivers the policy when you pay. After that, keep the same broker watching for clearinghouse offers and shopping the home every year.