Key takeaways
- We are not Farmers and have no relationship with them. We do not rate or rank insurers — this page reports what a regulator published.
- A 2024 consent order found fire and wildfire premium charged on DIC policies that excluded those perils, and required refunds for policies issued or renewed 8 April 2023 to 24 March 2024.
- That matters because a DIC wrap is what people buy alongside a FAIR Plan policy — and the FAIR Plan is the half that covers fire.
- In May 2026 the department said Farmers had eliminated its monthly cap on new homeowners business and was marketing in wildfire-distressed areas. If you were declined during the capped period, it is worth asking again.
- The Farmers exchanges are reciprocals run by an attorney-in-fact owned by Zurich, and homeowners sits across several entities — so the company on your policy may not be the one on the advertising.
Been declined in California before the caps came off? A licensed agent can tell you whether the answer has changed.
Call [PENDING][PENDING]. Calls are answered by [PENDING], a licensed insurance agency (NPN [PENDING]). HomeCoverDesk is not affiliated with any insurer. Calls may be recorded or monitored for quality and training purposes. Our partner does not offer every insurer or every product available in your state.What this page is, and what it is not
We are not Farmers, and we have no relationship with Farmers. We are a private, advertising-supported website. We are not their agent, not affiliated with them, not endorsed by them, and we cannot see, change or reinstate your policy. To reach Farmers, use the contact details on your own policy documents.
We also do not rate, rank or review insurers — not Farmers, not anyone. This page exists because California's insurance department has published specific findings and announcements about this insurer's homeowners business, and those are checkable facts that change what a reader might reasonably do next.
Everything here is California. None of it describes Farmers' position in any other state.
| What the order says — except where marked <i>our reading</i> | |
|---|---|
| What the Department concluded (a recital — Farmers denies it) | The Department “has concluded that Respondent is charging a significant premium for the perils of fire and wildfire. Respondent's DIC policies do not provide coverage for fire and wildfire losses.” |
| Why that matters here | The order itself makes the FAIR Plan link: it describes the DIC policy as carrying “a negative endorsement that removes from coverage the perils that are covered by the California FAIR Plan Basic Property Insurance Policy, including, but not limited to the perils of fire and wildfire”. The form matters: it is the FAIR Plan's Basic Property Insurance Policy — a specific policy form — not the FAIR Plan as an institution. This table cut the quote at “California FAIR Plan” until 25 August 2026, a truncation this page's own quotation registry had already recorded and corrected without the table being updated. Reading that alongside the finding, the premium was charged for a peril the FAIR Plan half already covered and the wrap excluded — our reading, drawn from two paragraphs of the order rather than stated in one |
| What the Department alleged was violated | California Insurance Code section 1861.05(a), the prohibition on excessive and potentially unfairly discriminatory rates. Note the word alleged: the order records that the Department alleges this |
| What Farmers said | The order records that Farmers “denies the allegations contained in the Notice of Noncompliance and denies that it has in any way acted in violation of California insurance law”, and that by entering the agreement it “makes no admission of liability, wrongdoing or violation of law”. A consent order is a settlement, not a finding of guilt |
| What was ordered | Refund of the fire and wildfire premium on DIC policies issued or renewed 8 April 2023 through 24 March 2024. Refunds may be issued as credits against future premium, as checks, or a combination |
| What had to stop, and when | Cease charging any premium for fire and wildfire perils on DIC policies issued or renewing on or after 25 March 2024 — the trigger is issuance or renewal, not the calendar date alone |
| Which company it binds | Farmers Insurance Exchange only. It is the sole respondent. The Farmers group writes homeowners through several separate legal entities, and the order does not reach them. The entity name on your declarations page is what decides whether this applies to you |
| Order date | 16 May 2024 |
The refund order, and why it lands on exactly the reader we write for
If a California insurer non-renews you and nobody in the standard market will write the house, the usual destination is the FAIR Plan. A FAIR Plan policy is narrow — it is close to a fire policy — so the standard next step is to buy a difference-in-conditions wrap alongside it, restoring the perils the plan leaves out.
Which makes the department's 2024 recital unusually pointed. It stated that Farmers was “charging a significant premium for the perils of fire and wildfire” on DIC policies that “do not provide coverage for fire and wildfire losses”.
And the same paragraph carries Farmers' answer, which we are not going to leave out. The third sentence of that recital reads: “Respondent asserts that such premium is associated with Respondent's cost of complying with its legal duty to adjust wildfire losses incurred by the California FAIR Plan and was approved under Insurance Code 1861.05.” And where the department alleges the charge violated section 1861.05(a), the order records in terms: “Respondent denies this allegation.” This is a negotiated consent order, and both halves of it are on the record.
Read that alongside how the pairing is supposed to work. The FAIR Plan is the half that covers fire. The wrap exists to cover what the plan does not. So the premium in question was being charged on the one peril the reader already had, by the policy that excluded it.
The order required refunds for policies issued or renewed between 8 April 2023 and 24 March 2024, and required the practice to stop from 25 March 2024. If you held a Farmers DIC policy in that window, there is something specific to check.
| What changed | The department's words | What it might mean for you |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly caps on new business | “The company has entirely eliminated its monthly cap for new homeowners business” | Capacity limits are the usual reason an insurer declines a property it would otherwise write. If you were turned away while caps were in force, the answer may now be different |
| Wildfire-area outreach | Farmers “has been making good on its pledge to market to at least 300,000 policyholders in wildfire distressed areas, where the FAIR Plan has become the only option for many”. Note it is a pledge being made good on, not a completed program | Being in a wildfire-exposed area is not automatically disqualifying to this insurer at present |
| The framing | Announced as part of commitments under the state's Sustainable Insurance Strategy | It is a stated commitment to a regulator, not a rule you can enforce. Worth acting on; not worth relying on |
Not sure what your FAIR Plan and wrap policies actually cover between them? A licensed agent can read them with you.
Call [PENDING][PENDING]. Calls are answered by [PENDING], a licensed insurance agency (NPN [PENDING]). HomeCoverDesk is not affiliated with any insurer. Calls may be recorded or monitored for quality and training purposes. Our partner does not offer every insurer or every product available in your state.And then the capacity cap came off
The other half of the California record runs the other way, and it is worth knowing if you were turned down at any point in the last few years.
In a consumer alert dated 12 May 2026, the department said: “While Farmers never stopped writing in California, the company has entirely eliminated its monthly cap for new homeowners business.” It added that Farmers “has been making good on its pledge to market to at least 300,000 policyholders in wildfire distressed areas, where the FAIR Plan has become the only option for many”.
That second half is the department's characterization, and the underlying commitment is worded differently. Farmers' own announcement of 21 November 2025 says the company will “begin marketing directly to approximately 300,000 consumers in the distressed areas”. Three differences worth having: approximately rather than at least; consumers rather than policyholders, and most of those consumers are not Farmers customers; and a commitment to begin marketing, which is not the same as a regulator's assessment that the company “has been making good” on it. We flag this because this site has been caught once already relying on a regulator's summary where the underlying document said something narrower.
Monthly caps are the quiet reason a great many applications get declined: not the property, but the fact that the insurer had already written its allocation that month. If that was your experience, the answer today may be a different one — and being in a wildfire-exposed area is evidently not disqualifying to this insurer at present.
Two cautions. It is a commitment made to a regulator, not a rule you can enforce, and none of it guarantees any particular property will be quoted. And it is dated: commitments of this kind are revisited. Treat it as a reason to ask again, not as an assurance.
| Point | What the examination report states |
|---|---|
| The exchanges are reciprocals | Farmers Insurance Exchange, Fire Insurance Exchange and Truck Insurance Exchange “are reciprocal insurers organized under California Insurance Code (CIC) Section § 1300 et. Seq.” You are a subscriber, not a shareholder's customer |
| Someone else runs them | Farmers Group, Inc. is the attorney-in-fact for Farmers Insurance Exchange; the Fire and Truck Underwriters Associations are attorneys-in-fact for the other two and are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Farmers Group, Inc. |
| And it is owned abroad | “FGI, which is a wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary of Zurich Insurance Group Ltd. (Zurich), a Swiss holding company” |
| Homeowners sits across several entities | The examination covers Farmers Insurance Exchange, Fire, Truck, Mid-Century, Civic, Exact, Neighborhood Spirit and Farmers Reinsurance. Note the date: the report records that as of May 2022 Civic, Exact and Neighborhood Spirit ceased offering new direct policies covering California residential property, so a present-tense reading of that list would be wrong |
| The MetLife acquisition | The report describes the purchase of MetLife's property and casualty business — agreement dated 11 December 2020, closed 7 April 2021 — but the entities acquired with it are outside the scope of this examination. We previously implied the report identified them as homeowners writers within the examined group. It does not |
| Why any of this matters | The entity on your declarations page determines which filings, which rates and which notices apply to you. Two neighbors both “with Farmers” can be with different companies on different rates — our reading of what the structure implies, not a statement in the report |
Who you are actually insured by
This is the part that surprises people, and it is on the public record because the department examined it.
The Farmers exchanges are reciprocal insurers. That means the policyholders are subscribers who insure one another, and the business is run by an attorney-in-fact — Farmers Group, Inc. — which is itself “a wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary of Zurich Insurance Group Ltd.”
Homeowners business is spread across several legal entities, and the 2021 acquisition of MetLife's property and casualty business added more. The practical consequence is worth a moment: the name on the marketing is not necessarily the company on your policy, and the company on your policy is what determines which rate filings and which notices apply to you.
| Step | What to look for |
|---|---|
| 1 | Find the entity name and policy period on your declarations page. The refund window is policies issued or renewed 8 April 2023 through 24 March 2024 |
| 2 | Check whether a fire or wildfire premium line appears on a DIC policy for that period |
| 3 | Look for a credit against a later renewal — the order permits refunds as credits rather than checks, so it may not have arrived as a payment |
| 4 | If you cannot find either, ask. The order required an accounting to the department; your agent should be able to say how it was applied to you |
| 5 | If you are not satisfied, the California Department of Insurance takes consumer complaints and it is the body that made the order |
What to check
Nothing here is advice about your policy and we have not seen your documents. If the refund window above overlaps a DIC policy you held, these are the things worth looking at.
Corrections to this page (4)
We publish these rather than editing quietly. Our corrections policy explains how we handle errors.
- — We stated that California Insurance Code section 1861.05(a) was violated. The consent order records that the Department alleges it, and that Farmers denies the allegations and makes no admission of liability, wrongdoing or violation of law. We had omitted the denial entirely. A consent order is a settlement, not a finding.
- — We quoted the department as saying Farmers was “marketing to” at least 300,000 policyholders. The alert says Farmers “has been making good on its pledge to market to” them — a pledge in progress, not a completed program.
- — We described the refund order at brand level. It binds Farmers Insurance Exchange only, which is one of several entities writing homeowners in the group.
- — We cited the examination report by the regulator's filename rather than its title, and implied it identified MetLife-acquired entities as homeowners writers within the examined group. It does not. We also listed three entities without noting the report records them as having ceased new California residential business in May 2022.
Methodology and sources
The consent order material is quoted from the California Department of Insurance's Settlement Stipulation and Consent Order, Farmers Insurance Exchange, File No. NC-2024-00007, dated 16 May 2024, read against the order itself on 23 August 2026. The 2026 market material is quoted from the department's consumer alert of 12 May 2026. The corporate structure is from the department's Report of Examination of the Farmers Insurance Group, examination as of 31 December 2021, report dated 26 September 2023.
The Florida exit is deliberately absent. The 2023 departure of Farmers-branded Florida policies is the single most-cited fact about this insurer and we could not confirm it against a Florida Office of Insurance Regulation order, a statutory withdrawal notice, or a Farmers announcement — only against trade and news reporting. A page whose central claim rests on secondary reporting is the kind of page we spend the rest of this site arguing against, so it is not here.
We assessed four large insurers for a page of this kind and built two. The other three — Allstate, Liberty Mutual and USAA — did not have enough distinct, primary-sourced material about their homeowners business to sustain one, and pages that differ only by the name of the insurer are not worth reading. Where we could not verify, we did not publish.
We are not affiliated with Farmers Insurance. Naming a company to describe what a regulator has published about it is ordinary factual reference. We do not use their marks, do not imply a relationship, and do not rate, rank or review them or any other insurer. If you find an error, our corrections policy explains how we handle it.
Frequently asked questions
Are you Farmers, or connected to them?
No. We are a private, advertising-supported website with no relationship to Farmers — not their agent, not affiliated, not endorsed. We cannot access your policy, change it or reinstate it. To reach Farmers, use the contact details on your own policy documents.
Am I owed a refund on a Farmers DIC policy?
Possibly — but check the entity first. The order binds Farmers Insurance Exchange only, not every company in the Farmers group, and it covers California DIC policies issued or renewed between 8 April 2023 and 24 March 2024. The consent order of 16 May 2024 required Farmers to refund premium charged for fire and wildfire perils on difference-in-conditions policies, and allowed the refund to be made as a credit against future premium rather than a payment — so it may not have arrived as a check. Check your declarations page for the entity and policy period first.
What is a DIC policy and why does this matter?
A difference-in-conditions policy is a wrap bought alongside a FAIR Plan policy to supply the perils the plan does not cover — commonly water damage, theft and liability. It is the standard destination for someone who has been non-renewed. The department's finding was that fire and wildfire premium was being charged on DIC policies that did not cover fire or wildfire, which is the peril the FAIR Plan half already covers.
Does the 2026 announcement mean Farmers will insure my house?
It means capacity is no longer the obstacle it was. The department reported that Farmers had entirely eliminated its monthly cap for new homeowners business and was marketing to at least 300,000 policyholders in wildfire-distressed areas. That is a commitment made to a regulator, not an enforceable rule, and no announcement guarantees any individual property will be quoted. It is a reason to ask again, particularly if you were declined while caps were in force.
Why does it matter which Farmers company my policy is with?
Because rates and filings are made by legal entity, not by brand. The department's examination report identifies homeowners business across several entities, plus those acquired with MetLife's property and casualty business in 2021. Two households both insured "with Farmers" can be with different companies on different filings. The entity name is on your declarations page.
What about Farmers leaving Florida?
We have deliberately left it off this page. It is the most widely repeated Farmers fact and we could not verify it against a Florida regulator order, a statutory withdrawal notice, or a company announcement — only against news reporting. Everything else on this page is quoted from a primary document, and we would rather have a gap than a claim we cannot stand behind.