OLD HARBOR INSURANCE
California Home Insurance Solutions
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At Old Harbor Insurance, we listen to help understand our clients' circumstances. We seek to educate clients to understand all insurance options.
Premium insurance
Non-Renewed, Cancelled, or Struggling to Find Coverage? We're Here to Help.
California homeowners are facing a challenging insurance market. If your home insurance has been cancelled, non-renewed, become too expensive, or you're having trouble finding a carrier willing to insure your property, Old Harbor Insurance can help.
We specialize in helping California homeowners navigate a complex property insurance market and find coverage options that fit their home, location, and individual circumstances.
FEATURED LINE
We're Here to Help California Homeowners
Finding homeowners insurance in California isn't what it used to be.
Insurance carriers have changed underwriting guidelines, reduced their exposure to California, increased premiums, and non-renewed thousands of homeowners. For many California homeowners, finding a replacement policy can feel overwhelming.
At Old Harbor Insurance, we help you navigate these challenges.
As an independent insurance agency, we work to identify available coverage options and help you understand the differences between them so you can make an informed decision about protecting your home.
Personal Insurance Lines
Our Lines of Personal Coverage Include
Home(s)
Auto
Umbrella
Aircraft
Motorcycle
Income Property
Personal Watercraft
Recreational Vehicles
Earthquake
Flood
Home(s)
Auto
Umbrella
Aircraft
Motorcycle
Income Property
Personal Watercraft
Recreational Vehicles
Earthquake
Flood
Our Lines of Coverage
California Home Insurance Coverage
Covers the structure of your home.
Provides coverage for any free-standing structures, other than your home, on your property.
Protection for your belongings within the home such as clothing, furniture, and kitchenware, etc.
Provides coverage so you can live elsewhere while your home is repaired.
Protection for you and your family in the event you are sued for another party’s injuries or property damage.
Designed to pay for medical expenses to others who are injured at your home.
Coverage for losses caused by a municipality enforcing ordinances or laws regarding the construction or repair of your home.
Extends liability coverage for issues such as false arrest, wrongful eviction, violation of privacy, libel, slander, etc.
California Home Insurance Has Become More Complicated. Here's Why.
1. More Non-Renewals
Insurance companies have reduced their exposure to California property insurance, resulting in large numbers of homeowners receiving non-renewal notices.
2. Fewer Insurance Options
Some carriers have stopped writing new business in certain areas, while others have significantly tightened their underwriting guidelines.
3. Wildfire Risk
Wildfire exposure has become an important consideration for insurers throughout California, particularly in higher-risk areas.
4. Changing Underwriting Guidelines
Insurance companies continually adjust their eligibility requirements. A home that qualified for coverage previously may not meet a carrier's current guidelines.
5. Higher Insurance Costs
Even homeowners who are able to renew their policies may be facing significantly higher premiums, deductibles, or coverage requirements.
Old Harbor is extraordinary because
1. We run on a focused, well-organized team. Each department handles a specific part of personal lines, keeping us informed, agile, and able to make quick, meaningful changes.
2. We’re recognized as an industry leader in personal lines, offering more market access than most other brokers. This gives our clients better coverage options, more competitive pricing, and smarter solutions.
3. We combine advanced technology with a real human touch. Our systems are highly efficient and tech-driven, but you can still speak to a knowledgeable and friendly U.S.-based expert between 9 and 4 every weekday.
4. Thousands trust us — just look at our Google reviews. We provide real social proof and are proud to build in public, sharing openly about who we are and what we believe in.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Can We Help?
Do you need a second companion policy to go with a California Fair Plan Policy?
Yes, you our opinion is that you absolutely need what is called a Difference in Conditions (“DIC”) or “Wrap” policy to accompany your CFP coverage. The California Fair Plan only insures you against the perils of fire, smoke, and vandalism coverage. In California, the most common cause of loss on a homeowners insurance policy is water damage. If you elect to have just the Fair Plan, you’re not only forgoing coverage for the most common cause of loss, you are also not covered for liability claims, wind damage, and more.
Can my California Fair Plan claim payment be reduced?
Yes, there are some unique aspects to a Fair Plan policy to be careful of. One of the most common errors we see in CFP policies written by other agencies is that they only list a single named insured. This is an issue if you have more than one individual on title – for instance a married couple. If a married couple owns a home together, but only one of them is listed as an Insured on the Fair Plan policy, their claim settlement can be reduced by 50%.
What companies have recently dropped homeowners insurance in California?
There has been a slew of companies leaving California the last few years. One of the biggest names that left first was Kemper Insurance. They wrote over $500 million in business in California, and left in 2023. State Farm made headlines in May 2023 when they stopped writing any property (homeowners, condo owners, rental homes, etc.) in the State – a pause that continues now, two years later. In March 2024, nearly a year after their pause, State Farm announced they were going to drop over 70,000 policies. Other big names have dropped tens of thousands of policies in the last two years: Nationwide Insurance, Safeco Insurance (Liberty Mutual), American National Insurance (ANPAC), and Farmers Insurance to name a few.
Useful links to explore:
https://oldharbor.com/2023/08/08/kemper-exits-preferred-home-and-auto-insurance-in-california/
https://oldharbor.com/2023/05/30/state-farm-will-no-longer-write-home-insurance-in-california/
https://oldharbor.com/2024/03/22/news/
https://oldharbor.com/2025/01/10/palisades-fire-and-implications-on-the-california-insurance-market/
How can I help avoid having my home insurance cancelled?
For some, there is nothing you can do. If your insurer is leaving the state or abandoning homeowners insurance in California, you cannot save your coverage. For those that do not fall into that boat, we recommend the following:
- Whenever possible, combine your other insurance with your homeowners insurer. Other lines of personal insurance such as auto, umbrella, and specialty lines are more profitable right now, and will help you appear a more “complete” account. This action will also have the added benefit of lowering your home insurance expense.
- If you receive a letter requiring home clean up, photos, information, or something else. Comply and provide whatever is requested in as timely a manner as possible. Many carriers are re-underwriting risks, and failure to respond is a surefire way to be dropped.
- Be proactive with “fire-proofing” or “hardening” your home where reasonable and possible. Clear trees that overhang or touch your roof. Remove debris from around the home. Clear any unmanaged or overgrown vegetation within 100 feet of your home.
Get a Quote
At Old Harbor Insurance, we listen to helpunderstand our client s circumstances. Weseek to educate clients to understand allinsurance options.