California home insurance premiums are set to rise by 16% in 2026, leading the way as the largest spike in the entire country.
The jump in home insurance prices in the Golden State are more than five times what residents in states like Texas and Florida are expected to see.
Texas is set to increase their insurance prices by 3% and Florida by 2%, while some states like New York and Maine are expected to see the same or cheaper costs (0% and -1%, respectively) according to Jonathan Lansner of the OC Register.
California’s massive increase is largely due to rising property damage, with fires in Los Angeles accounting for $61.8 billion in damages in 2025 according to Climate Central.
Home owners who cannot get insurance coverage are resorted to the state’s FAIR Plan, which provides basic fire insurance. However, those premiums are also projected to grow by 29% by 2027.
“The largest component of the increase relates to the wildfire portion of policyholders’ premiums, so those policyholders whose properties are at significant wildfire risk will see a higher increase than those at lower risk, and some policyholders will see a premium decrease,” a FAIR spokesperson told The Post in May.
In May 2025, the President of FAIR Plan Veronica Roach warned lawmakers that it was running out of money over the thousands of claims it was paying out to the victims of the devastating Palisades and Eaton Fire.
Despite the 16% spike, California only ranks 21st in average home insurance premium at $2843.
Part of this is due to California’s Proposition 103, which makes insurance companies obtain approval from the Insurance Commissioner before companies can implement rate hikes.
Nevertheless, California leads the entire nation in median home prices according to Forbes.
California’s median home price is at $854,000 which is $80,000 more than the next most expensive state in Hawaii. California also has the highest electricity rates with prices being at least 10% higher than other states since the late 1980s, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.
By NY Post – https://nypost.com/2026/06/15/real-estate/california-home-insurance-prices-set-to-increase-16-in-2026/
