California Home Insurance Quotes And Coverage

New homeowners in California pay an average of about $1,300 per year for home insurance, though your premium may vary depending on your location, insurance company, coverage limits and deductibles. California home insurance coverage typically includes protection against wildfires, but you may need to purchase extra coverage for other common perils, such as earthquakes and floods.

Read on for more information about home insurance in California, including which insurance companies may make the most sense for you, depending on your circumstances.

Key Takeaways Insuring a new $500,000 home in California costs an average of about $107 per month with a $1,000 deductible. Mercury offers the cheapest home insurance in California, while Chubb has earned high customer satisfaction ratings despite offering the most expensive coverage. Standard California home insurance policies don’t cover floods or earthquakes, so you should buy separate policies for these common natural disasters. Home insurance typically covers wildfires, but you may need fire coverage through the California FAIR Plan if your home is too high-risk for traditional insurers.

Best Home Insurance Companies in California

Your personal coverage needs will determine which homeowners insurance company in California would be the best for you. The following sections go over which insurers can provide the best coverage for certain types of policyholders.

Insurance Company	Best For
Mercury	Cheap rates
Farmers	Fire protection
Chubb	Customer satisfaction
USAA	Military families

Best for Cheap Rates: Mercury

Mercury Insurance offers the lowest rates among major homeowners insurance companies in California. For example, the average cost of a Mercury policy with a $1,000 deductible for a new home in San Francisco worth $500,000 is around $481 per year, which is nearly $800 less than the average cost across all insurance carriers in San Francisco.^[1]

You may be able to save even more money on your home insurance policy from Mercury by taking advantage of any of the following discounts:^[2]

• Fire protection device
• Theft protection device
• Water leak detection
• New home
• Homeowners association (HOA)
• Wildfire mitigation (at the property and/or community level)
• Claim free
• Bundling

Best for Fire Protection: Farmers

Farmers Insurance stands out compared to other home insurance companies in California due to its expansive wildfire mitigation response service endorsement. This can cover numerous fire suppression services if a wildfire is imminent, such as debris removal, sprinkler system setup, gel or foam application, active fire extinguishing and more.^[3]

Unlike some insurers that offer a similar benefit, Farmers will also cover property damage and loss of use needs caused by the wildfire response team.^[3]

The sample population in San Francisco mentioned previously pays an average of about $1,099 per year for Farmers homeowners insurance coverage.^[1] To mitigate these moderately high prices, see if you are eligible for discounts like these:^[4]

• Affinity
• Preferred payment
• Bundling
• Claim free
• On-time payment
• GroupSelect for businesses or associations
• Rent to own
• Smart home
• Home safety
• Green certifications
• New home
• Protective devices
• UL-approved roofing materials

Best for Customer Satisfaction: Chubb

Chubb had the highest customer satisfaction rating of any broadly available insurance company analyzed in J.D. Power’s most recent home insurance study.^[5] In addition, it’s worth noting that Chubb specializes in covering high-value homes. This should make it a particularly appealing option for homeowners in California, where average home replacement costs range from $360,000 to $1.5 million.^[6]

Given Chubb’s emphasis on providing comprehensive coverage for valuable properties, it’s unsurprising that its homeowners policies can be expensive, averaging $2,583 per year for our sample population in San Francisco.^[1] Nevertheless, Chubb offers multiple homeowners insurance discounts, including — but not limited to — the following:^[7]

• Bundling
• Burglar and fire alarms
• New or renovated home
• Gated community (with or without a patrol service)
• Fire protection devices and resistant materials
• Claim free
• Storm shutter
• Suburban rating

Best for Military Families: USAA

USAA exclusively serves military personnel and their families, making it an obvious pick for any veterans or active duty service members interested in specially tailored homeowners coverage. The insurer’s commitment to helping military families is apparent through its high customer satisfaction ratings; USAA was the only insurer with a higher rating than Chubb in J.D. Power’s most recent study.^[5]

The average cost of USAA home insurance for our sample population is $999 per year.^[1] To save on home insurance from USAA, you should look into these discount opportunities:^[8]

• Bundling
• Protective devices
• Smart home
• Loyalty
• Claim free

Cost of Homeowners Insurance in California

On average, new homeowners across California can expect to pay $1,289 per year for $500,000 worth of dwelling coverage with a $1,000 deductible.^[1] In the upcoming sections, you’ll see examples of how average costs can vary based on factors like your chosen insurer, dwelling value and county.

Average Cost by Insurance Company

Mercury boasts the lowest average home insurance premiums among major insurers in California, while Chubb’s rates are the highest. See the table below to find out how much each insurance company charges on average to cover a new home in San Francisco worth $500,000, assuming you choose a $1,000 deductible.^[1]

Insurance Company	Average Annual Premium in San Francisco
AAA	$964
Chubb	$2,583
Farmers	$1,099
Mercury	$481
Nationwide	$782
Safeco	$1,451
Travelers	$663
USAA	$999

Average Cost by Dwelling Value

The more it will cost to rebuild your home if it is destroyed by a covered peril, the more you will have to pay for home insurance coverage. The next table shows average prices for policies with a $1,000 deductible and differing dwelling coverage amounts in San Francisco.^[1]

Dwelling Value	Average Annual Premium in San Francisco
$250,000	$807
$500,000	$1,331
$750,000	$1,917
$1 million	$2,114

Average Cost by County

Residents of Santa Clara County enjoy the lowest home insurance prices in California, paying $1,010 per year on average. Conversely, homeowners in Alpine County have the highest premiums, averaging $1,549 per year. Continue reading to see the average cost to insure a new home with $500,000 worth of dwelling coverage and a $1,000 deductible in every county in California.^[1]

County	Average Annual Premium
Alameda	$1,203
Alpine	$1,549
Amador	$1,513
Butte	$1,293
Calaveras	$1,526
Colusa	$1,272
Contra Costa	$1,123
Del Norte	$1,201
El Dorado	$1,457
Fresno	$1,200
Glenn	$1,344
Humboldt	$1,115
Imperial	$1,417
Inyo	$1,466
Kern	$1,254
Kings	$1,171
Lake	$1,410
Lassen	$1,500
Los Angeles	$1,475
Madera	$1,268
Marin	$1,150
Mariposa	$1,523
Mendocino	$1,243
Merced	$1,152
Modoc	$1,454
Mono	$1,447
Monterey	$1,084
Napa	$1,106
Nevada	$1,439
Orange	$1,327
Placer	$1,130
Plumas	$1,504
Riverside	$1,461
Sacramento	$1,140
San Benito	$1,174
San Bernardino	$1,428
San Diego	$1,259
San Francisco	$1,331
San Joaquin	$1,171
San Luis Obispo	$1,071
San Mateo	$1,048
Santa Barbara	$1,076
Santa Clara	$1,010
Santa Cruz	$1,157
Shasta	$1,434
Sierra	$1,513
Siskiyou	$1,444
Solano	$1,155
Sonoma	$1,029
Stanislaus	$1,112
Sutter	$1,227
Tehama	$1,432
Trinity	$1,545
Tulare	$1,159
Tuolumne	$1,501
Ventura	$1,135
Yolo	$1,107
Yuba	$1,355

Homeowners Insurance in California

Standard homeowners insurance policies in California generally include the following six coverage types:

1. Dwelling: Dwelling insurance covers most types of sudden damage to your home and any structures directly attached to it, like an attached deck or garage.
2. Other structures: Fences, sheds and other freestanding structures on your property are insured against most sudden perils by your other structures coverage.
3. Personal property: Personal property coverage insures your belongings — including electronics, furniture, clothes and more — against sources of damage that are specifically listed as covered perils in your policy documents.
4. Loss of use: You can file a claim on your loss of use coverage if a covered peril leaves your home temporarily uninhabitable. In this scenario, your insurer may reimburse you for additional living expenses, like hotel stays, restaurant meals and more.
5. Personal liability: If you are held liable for a guest’s or neighbor’s injury or damage to their property, your personal liability coverage can take care of medical bills, property repairs and legal expenses, as needed.
6. Medical payments: Treatments for less severe injuries that occur on your property may be covered by medical payments insurance. Medical payments coverage may apply regardless of fault, but its coverage limits are fairly low, and it doesn’t cover legal fees.

What California Homeowners Need To Know

Home insurance policies may limit coverage for multiple common natural disasters in California. The sections below explain how frequently these perils occur — and what coverage options may be available.

Floods

While California is not particularly renowned for flooding, the Golden State has experienced more than 30 major floods over the past 65 years. These floods have caused over 300 deaths and 750 injuries, along with billions of dollars’ worth of property damage.^[9] Standard home insurance generally excludes coverage for flood damage, so you should consider purchasing a separate flood insurance policy — especially if you live in a high-risk flood zone.

You may be able to get flood coverage through a private insurance company or the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

Earthquakes

California has a significantly higher earthquake risk than every other state — with a 99% chance that a magnitude 6.7 or greater quake will strike at some point in the future.^[10] Like flood damage, earthquake damage is not covered by standard homeowners insurance policies. Given the high risk, it’s essential for California homeowners to secure earthquake insurance from another source.

Fortunately, homeowners insurance companies in California are legally required to offer earthquake insurance coverage to their policyholders at least once every two years. Most of these policies are underwritten by a privately funded, publicly operated institution known as the California Earthquake Authority (CEA).^[11]

Wildfire

Wildfire damage is one of the most prevalent threats facing California homeowners, as the state experienced more than 8,000 wildfires in 2024 alone.^[12] Fire is among the perils covered by standard home insurance policies, so you most likely won’t need to purchase extra coverage for California wildfires. However, a homeowners insurance company may drop you or decline to cover your property altogether if you live in a wildfire-prone area.

If you can’t find affordable home insurance coverage through the private insurance market, you may need to turn to California’s insurer of last resort, the Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) Plan. FAIR Plan coverage coupled with difference in conditions (DIC) insurance may provide a similar level of coverage as a standard homeowners policy, though this combination will likely be far more expensive than home insurance.

How To Find Homeowners Insurance in California

When shopping for homeowners insurance, it’s smart to gather quotes from at least three to five insurance carriers — that way, you can easily compare the benefits they offer and see which company can insure you for the lowest price. However, it can be a time-consuming process to separately contact multiple insurers to give them your information and ask for quotes.

With SmartFinancial, insurance comparison shopping is easier. Once you fill out a brief questionnaire, we can connect you with insurance agents who can help you find an affordable policy that matches your particular coverage needs. Start comparing home insurance quotes in California for free today!