Wildfire Non-Renewal in California: Documentation to Have Ready

If you manage a commercial property, a master community, or HOA common areas in wildfire country, renewal season now comes with two questions: what has the site done to reduce wildfire exposure, and can you show it? California's regulatory changes since 2022 have made the second question as important as the first.

What is changing in the California market

The California Department of Insurance (CDI) is rebuilding the market under its Sustainable Insurance Strategy. The core trade: insurers may use forward-looking catastrophe models in ratemaking, and in exchange they commit to writing at least 85% of their statewide market share in wildfire distressed areas identified by the Commissioner.

In July 2025, CDI completed its evaluation of the first wildfire catastrophe model under that framework. The Department said rates will reflect "mitigation efforts undertaken by regions, neighborhoods, and individual homes," drawing on mitigation data from homeowners, businesses, local communities and government entities.

Mitigation also carries weight through the Safer from Wildfires regulation. Since 2022, CDI has required insurers to offer wildfire mitigation discounts on both residential and commercial policies. Insurers must provide a wildfire risk score when you apply and before a renewal or non-renewal, explain how to lower it, and accept an appeal if you have completed mitigation work since your last score. Discounts become available as each insurer's rate filing is approved, so amounts and timing vary by carrier.

The California FAIR Plan remains the backstop. It had 668,609 policies in force as of December 2025, and the Department of Insurance reported that policy growth slowed to 1.9% in the second quarter of 2026 (CDI, August 2026). FAIR Plan commercial policies can cover HOAs and condominium associations, and a temporary high value commercial policy launched in July 2025 offers up to $20 million per building and $100 million per location, set to expire in 2028. Under the strategy, FAIR Plan policyholders who comply with Safer from Wildfires get first priority for moving back to the standard market.

Defensible space rules are also tightening. State law already requires 100 feet of defensible space. In August 2026 the Board of Forestry adopted emergency "Zone 0" rules for an ember-resistant area within five feet of structures, but those rules take effect only after the Office of Administrative Law approves and files them. Confirm current status with your local fire authority before planning around specific deadlines.

Carriers are looking from above

Aerial imagery is now part of how carriers look at properties. A 2026 California Assembly analysis of AB 1559 described companies photographing properties with drones, manned airplanes and high-altitude balloons, and quoted a Wall Street Journal report that "nearly every building in the country is being photographed, often without the owner's knowledge."

That bill addresses residential policies from admitted insurers. As amended in April 2026, it would require insurers to tell residential policyholders at least once a year that aerial images may be taken, give policyholders the images on request, and bar the use of images more than 180 days old to support non-renewal or reduced coverage unless an in-person inspection verified current conditions. Its last recorded action was a Senate committee referral on June 10, 2026, and it had not become law as of October 2026 (bill history). Commercial policies sit outside that scope, which makes your own record more important. If a carrier's image is outdated or captured before a clearance cycle, a dated record of your own is how you show the current condition.

Documentation worth having ready

The Safer from Wildfires framework recognizes mitigation at three levels: the structure, its immediate surroundings, and the community. Organize your records the same way.

Vegetation clearance around structures

• Dated aerial records of clearance around clubhouses, pool buildings, maintenance yards and other common-area structures.
• Coverage of the first five feet, which CAL FIRE calls the most important zone, and the full 100 feet or property line.
• Evidence that sheds and outbuildings sit at least 30 feet from main structures, a measure CDI lists for discounts.

Fuel modification zone maintenance

• Records tied to each maintenance cycle: one capture before the crew goes in, one after.
• Contractor work orders filed alongside imagery of the same dates and areas.
• A consistent schedule, so gaps between cycles are visible rather than assumed.

Roofs, vents and eaves on common-area buildings

CDI's list of recognized measures includes Class A fire-rated roofs, ember- and fire-resistant vents, enclosed eaves, a five-foot ember-resistant zone, six noncombustible inches at the base of exterior walls, and debris cleared from under decks. Overhead and oblique imagery records roof surfaces, gutters and the ground around each building on a given date.

Community-level participation

Keep Firewise USA recognition or Fire Risk Reduction Community status on file, along with the records that support them.

How the records get used

Dated documentation supports three moments: the renewal submission your broker sends to market, a request for an updated wildfire risk score after completed work, and a response to a non-renewal notice. In each case the record shows condition on a date. Your broker, the carrier and your fire authority interpret it. Records do not decide pricing or eligibility, and no documentation set assures a discount or a renewal.

Keep files organized by date and location, and keep originals unaltered. A timestamped, repeatable record is easier to rely on than a folder of undated phone photos.

How FlyCRE fits

FlyCRE flies commercial properties, HOA and master community common areas, and fuel modification zones on a schedule, and keeps a permanent, timestamped aerial record in four layers: orthomosaic, thermal, asset visibility and multispectral. FlyCRE does not capture data of private property or residences.

We document. Qualified professionals interpret. The record is yours to hand to your broker, carrier or fire authority when renewal comes around.