Yes, you can still get home insurance in Marin and Sonoma in 2026, but the policy you end up with now depends on planning, and the calm stretches are over. The one-year moratorium on wildfire-related non-renewals that followed the January 2025 Los Angeles fires expired on January 7, 2026, so carriers are again making coverage decisions address by address. Three weeks from today, on October 15, the California FAIR Plan, the state's insurer of last resort, raises its rates by 29.1 percent. Here is what that means for homeowners and buyers in Novato, Petaluma, and both counties, and what to do about it.
Why insurance became the biggest question in our market
The January 2025 Palisades and Eaton fires changed the rules. During the crisis, state law blocked non-renewals in affected ZIP codes for a year; when that moratorium expired on January 7, 2026, carriers resumed trimming their books in wildfire-exposed areas. The FAIR Plan's enrollment tells the story: about 126,000 policies in 2018, roughly 684,000 in force by March 2026, with more than $750 billion in exposure. Across the Bay Area hills, homeowners who cannot get a standard policy commonly pay in the range of $5,000 to $18,000 a year for FAIR Plan coverage plus a separate difference-in-conditions policy.
What the FAIR Plan covers, and what it does not
The FAIR Plan is a pool funded by every insurer that does business in California, and it exists to provide basic fire coverage when the standard market declines. It covers fire, lightning, internal explosion, and smoke, up to a $3 million dwelling limit. It does not cover liability, theft, water damage, or loss of use, which is why most policyholders add a difference-in-conditions, or DIC, policy to fill the gaps. If a carrier non-renews you, California law requires at least 75 days of written notice, and that window is your chance to shop around and to harden the property.
Where Novato and Petaluma sit on the fire maps
CAL FIRE's updated 2025 Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps put the highest-hazard ground in the wildland interface, not in our town centers. Inside the city of Petaluma, the 2025 maps show no very-high zones; the riskier ground sits on the county's unincorporated fringe and in state responsibility areas around town. Novato's fire district received maps classifying parts of the city as moderate, high, and very high hazard, and the eastern hills are where local brokers see the fewest carrier options. The takeaway is not to fear the maps, it is that your insurance answer depends on your exact address, not your neighborhood's reputation.
What to do before you make an offer, or before your renewal
- Get insurance quotes before you write the offer. The most common buyer frustration in 2026 is discovering the insurance cost after escrow has already opened.
- Check your address on CAL FIRE's Fire Hazard Severity Zone map, and ask the seller for their current policy, premium, and claim history.
- Ask which hardening upgrades earn the Safer from Wildfires discounts: a Class A roof, ember-resistant vents, and 100 feet of maintained defensible space.
- Budget your first year of premiums into the monthly number. In a fire-exposed pocket, insurance is no longer a rounding error.
None of this should talk anyone out of homeownership. It should change how you plan. The buyers I am working with now get quotes before they offer, treat the fire map as a checklist instead of a mystery, and go into escrow knowing exactly what their coverage will cost. If you are buying or selling in the North Bay, I will walk your exact address, your numbers, and your options honestly, the same way I handle inspections, disclosures, and offers.
Helpful next steps
“By the time offers come in, the insurance story should already be solved. That is what separates a smooth escrow from a stressful one.”
Peter Schardt
Written by
Peter Schardt
21 years in real estate, 100+ homes sold, and a lifetime in the North Bay. Sales Associate · 01702383 · California.
