1-year post-wildfire nonrenewal moratorium

California: your insurer cannot nonrenew you within one year of a declared wildfire, if you're in the fire perimeter

California Insurance Code §675.1 bars a residential property insurer from canceling or refusing to renew a policy solely because the insured structure is in a ZIP code within or adjacent to a wildfire perimeter, for one year after the Governor declares a state of emergency. This is a targeted wildfire protection, not a general roof-claim shield, but it is the primary California statute homeowners cite when a nonrenewal notice arrives after a fire loss.

Written by Todd Whittington, Editor·Last reviewed September 8, 2026 Verified 2026-09-08

What §675.1 does

Cal. Ins. Code §675.1 provides in substance:

An insurer shall not cancel or refuse to renew a policy of residential property insurance for a property located in any ZIP Code within or adjacent to the fire perimeter, for one year after the declaration of a state of emergency by the Governor based on the fire, and shall not use the fact that the insured structure is located in an area in which a wildfire has occurred as the sole basis for cancellation or nonrenewal.

The moratorium is triggered by a gubernatorial declaration under California Government Code §8558. It applies to policies in force at the time of the declared emergency. The fire perimeter and adjacent ZIPs are identified using data from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) and the Insurance Commissioner's implementing bulletins.

What §675.1 does NOT do

It is wildfire-specific. §675.1 does not shield you from nonrenewal after hail, wind, or other non-wildfire roof losses. Those events are governed by general policy language and the Insurance Commissioner's underwriting rules.
It is time-limited to one year. After the year expires, the insurer regains its normal cancellation and nonrenewal discretion, subject to notice requirements.
It does not bar rate increases. Premiums can rise at renewal even during the moratorium.
It does not apply if the insured causes the underlying risk. The statute contains exceptions for willful or grossly negligent acts materially increasing risk, unrelated losses that render the property ineligible, and post-loss physical changes that make the property uninsurable beyond the disaster damage itself.
It does not force the insurer to pay any specific claim. Coverage and payout disputes are governed by other provisions of the Insurance Code and by your policy.

What this means when you're deciding to file a hail or wind roof claim

§675.1 doesn't apply to a hail or wind roof claim in the absence of a declared wildfire emergency. For hail and wind losses in California, the decision to file is driven by the same factors that apply in most states:

Your percentage deductible versus the roofer's estimate. Calculate your real deductible.
Your roof's age against your carrier's payment schedule.
Your CLUE record — California is one of the higher non-renewal-rate states in the country (see the CLUE explainer for the NAIC and Treasury FIO figures), and outside a §675.1 moratorium, that risk applies normally.

Run the specifics through the roof claim calculator.

Already filed, and the claim was denied or paid less than you expected? Read what to do if your claim is denied: how to appeal, how to file a complaint in California, and when a public adjuster or a lawyer makes sense.

Recent context: administrative moratorium extensions

Beyond §675.1 as enacted, the California Department of Insurance (CDI) has periodically extended nonrenewal moratoria administratively after major wildfire seasons, including after the 2017-2018 fire seasons that prompted the statute's most-cited amendments (SB 824, 2018). Post-2024/2025 fire seasons the CDI has continued to issue moratorium bulletins on a wildfire-specific basis. Verify the current moratorium map and applicable ZIP codes at insurance.ca.gov before assuming coverage in a specific location.

How California compares

California's §675.1 is peril-specific (wildfire only) but time-specific (12 months from declaration) — narrower than Texas's §551.107 weather-claim nonrenewal shield, which is peril-broad but not time-limited, and narrower than New York's §3425 3-year required policy period, which is time-broad and claim-type-agnostic. For a California homeowner outside a wildfire-declared area, the practical roof-claim decision looks much like a no-special-rules state's — see the rollup.

Sources

Cal. Ins. Code §675.1. Official statute site: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. Verified 2026-09-08.
California Government Code §8558. Defines "state of emergency" as the trigger for §675.1.
California Department of Insurance: insurance.ca.gov. Publishes wildfire moratorium bulletins and ZIP-code maps.
CAL FIRE: fire.ca.gov. Publishes fire perimeter data used to define moratorium coverage.

Educational information, not legal or insurance advice. §675.1 was substantially amended by SB 824 (2018) and has been supplemented by CDI administrative moratoria in subsequent years. Verify the current text at the official source and check the CDI bulletin index for any moratorium currently in effect for your ZIP before relying on specific provisions.