The Overview

If your home insurer has dropped you or stopped writing policies in your area, you may already be on California's FAIR Plan, the insurer of last resort. California's Make It FAIR Act, Assembly Bill 1680, became law when Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed it Sept. 27. Reuters found that 24 private insurers in California had stopped covering fire risk, and FAIR Plan policies rose across nearly all high-wildfire-risk counties; the Los Angeles Times reported in September 2026 that the Plan had grown to cover 696,000 properties, with a total insured risk pool of $788 billion. ​

What the Law Does

The California FAIR Plan Association, a joint reinsurance program in which all insurers licensed to write basic property insurance must participate, is now subject to stronger corrective-action requirements. When an examination or operational report identifies a violation of applicable statutes, regulations, accounting rules, the plan of operation, or other binding rules, the Insurance Commissioner can require the association to take specific corrective steps within an agreed timeframe; missing that deadline carries a penalty of up to $20,000. Other violations can draw fines of up to $10,000 per act, or up to $20,000 if willful.

The law also lets the commissioner require the association to adjust its policy limits and add fair rental value coverage under its renters' property insurance program. The California Department of Insurance said the law brings customer service, claims, and transparency reforms to the FAIR Plan.

The American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA), an insurance trade group, opposed the bill, and its assistant vice president for public affairs, Nicole Ganley, called expanding FAIR Plan policies to full homeowners coverage a "lose-lose" for the state, according to Insurance Business. The February Insurance Business report says the bill would have required the FAIR Plan to cover water damage, personal injury liability and other coverages that standard homeowners policies usually include, which policyholders now buy separately. Ganley argued that the FAIR Plan does not have the financial capacity to absorb the next major catastrophe, so other Californians would "inevitably be forced to absorb the cost of future FAIR Plan shortfalls."

The APCIA also told lawmakers that raising rates is key to shrinking the FAIR Plan, which filed in autumn 2025 for an average home insurance rate increase of 35.8%, its largest in at least seven years. After the January 2025 wildfires, the plan reported about $4 billion in losses from the Palisades and Eaton fires, which led to a $1 billion assessment on insurers, and half of that may be passed on to policyholders.

Legislative Status

Asm. Lisa Calderon (D-CA-56) authored the bill, joined by co-authors Asm. Dawn Addis (D-CA-30), Asm. David Alvarez (D-CA-80), Asm. Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-CA-16), Asm. Marc Berman (D-CA-23), and six other co-authors.

The Assembly passed the bill May 21, 62 to 8. On June 24, the upper chamber voted six to zero for a motion to pass the bill, but first to send it back to the Committee on Appropriations. The Senate passed it Aug. 31, 39 to 0, and the Assembly concurred in Senate amendments the same day, 72 to 1.

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