The FAIR Plan’s Dwelling Fire policy covers fire, lightning, smoke and internal explosion. Earthquake is a separate policy. The FAIR Plan is one of the companies that sells California Earthquake Authority policies, so a FAIR Plan homeowner, condo owner or renter with a Dwelling Fire policy can add CEA coverage through it. Two strings come attached. You can’t buy the earthquake policy alone; you need the FAIR Plan policy in force. And the CEA policy has to come from the same company as the residential policy, while state law ends a CEA policy once the property no longer has an underlying residential policy, so leaving the FAIR Plan means lining up earthquake coverage again. A DIC wrap-around is built for other gaps like water damage, theft and liability. Private earthquake insurers outside the CEA are the other route.
What the FAIR Plan policy leaves out
The FAIR Plan describes itself as an insurer of last resort, set up by statute to provide basic property insurance when no other option is reasonably available. Its Dwelling Fire policy is a named-peril policy: it covers fire and lightning, internal explosion and smoke, with options such as vandalism and malicious mischief at extra cost. Earthquake isn’t on that list. What the FAIR Plan is and who ends up on it.
The FAIR Plan itself tells policyholders to consider separate Difference in Conditions, flood or earthquake policies for more complete coverage. That lines up with the general rule the California Department of Insurance gives: homeowners, renters and condo policies generally don’t cover earthquake damage.
The CEA policy you can add
The FAIR Plan is on the CEA’s list of participating insurers, the companies that sell and service CEA earthquake policies. The FAIR Plan offers CEA coverage to customers with a FAIR Plan Dwelling Fire policy, for:
- Houses of 1 to 4 units. Earthquake coverage for the residential dwelling.
- Condo units. Building property coverage for the inside of the unit, such as interior walls, flooring, fixtures and windows.
- Renters. Belongings, plus the cost of living elsewhere while a damaged rental is repaired.
- Mobile and manufactured homes. The home and structures attached to it, like a garage.
The FAIR Plan doesn’t write a stand-alone earthquake policy; you need an in-force FAIR Plan policy to qualify for CEA coverage through it. That matches state law. Under Insurance Code section 10089.26, the CEA issues policies to owners who have residential property insurance from a participating insurer, and the CEA says the earthquake policy and the residential policy have to come from the same company. The FAIR Plan writes personal property and improvements coverage for condo unit owners and personal property coverage for tenants, which is the underlying policy condo owners and renters attach CEA coverage to.
How to add it and what you choose
You don’t buy from the CEA directly, and CEA policies can’t be bound on its website. Insurance Code section 10089.28 puts marketing and service with the participating insurer that writes the underlying policy, so the FAIR Plan handles the application, billing, renewals, changes and claims. The FAIR Plan’s earthquake page sends applicants to a broker. You can add a CEA policy any time before an earthquake; you don’t have to wait for renewal.
For a house, the main choices are:
- Policy style. Standard Homeowners bundles dwelling, personal property and loss of use. Homeowners Choice always includes dwelling and lets you add or decline the other two.
- Deductible. Dwelling deductibles are 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% or 25%. A dwelling limit over $1,000,000, or a pre-1980 house on a raised or other type of foundation without a verified retrofit, limits you to 15%, 20% or 25%.
- Limits. The dwelling limit matches your residential policy. Personal property and loss of use limits come from set amounts, and loss of use has no deductible.
Building code upgrade and emergency repairs coverage are built in. What a California earthquake policy covers, line by line.
What happens if the FAIR Plan policy ends
This is the part people miss. Under Insurance Code section 10089.20, the CEA must nonrenew, rescind or cancel a policy if the property is no longer covered by an underlying residential property policy, and the CEA policy provides no coverage if there is no underlying policy at the time of loss. Unearned premium is returned pro rata in that case.
So if your FAIR Plan policy is cancelled, lapses or is dropped, the CEA policy attached to it goes too. And because the CEA requires the earthquake policy and the residential policy to come from the same company, moving to a regular insurer means earthquake coverage has to be set up again: through that insurer if it is a CEA participating insurer, or through a private earthquake policy if it isn’t. When a client leaves the FAIR Plan, I try to have the replacement earthquake policy in place before the FAIR Plan policy ends.
Does a DIC policy add earthquake?
A Difference in Conditions policy is the wrap-around that fills in what the FAIR Plan leaves out. The FAIR Plan describes DIC as adding coverages it doesn’t offer, such as water damage, theft and liability, and it doesn’t sell DIC itself. The Department of Insurance gives the same examples. Neither lists earthquake among the perils a DIC adds, and the FAIR Plan names DIC and earthquake as separate purchases. Plan on a separate earthquake policy, and read your DIC declarations before assuming otherwise. How a DIC policy pairs with the FAIR Plan and what a difference in conditions policy is.
Private earthquake policies
The Department of Insurance says the CEA provides most earthquake insurance in California, not all of it. The CEA keeps a short list of alternate earthquake insurers on its website and notes they aren’t affiliated with it. Those aren’t CEA policies, so the CEA’s same-company rule doesn’t govern them. Each insurer sets its own eligibility, coverage options and deductibles, and the forms need to be compared side by side with the CEA policy.
This route matters for FAIR Plan households that want different limits or deductibles than the CEA offers, or that expect to leave the FAIR Plan soon. More on earthquake insurance in California, with local notes for Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Common questions
Does the FAIR Plan cover earthquake damage?
No. The Dwelling Fire policy is a named-peril policy covering fire and lightning, internal explosion and smoke. Earthquake coverage comes from a separate CEA policy.
Can I buy just the earthquake policy from the FAIR Plan?
No. The FAIR Plan doesn’t offer a stand-alone earthquake policy; CEA coverage through it is for customers with an in-force FAIR Plan Dwelling Fire policy.
What happens to my CEA policy if I leave the FAIR Plan?
State law requires the CEA to cancel or nonrenew a policy once the property no longer has an underlying residential policy, and the CEA policy must come from the same company as that policy. Set up new earthquake coverage with your next insurer, or a private policy, before the FAIR Plan coverage ends.
Can condo owners and renters on the FAIR Plan get earthquake coverage?
Yes. Through the FAIR Plan, the CEA offers condo unit coverage for damage inside the unit and renters coverage for belongings and living elsewhere after a quake.
Does my DIC policy include earthquake?
Don’t assume it does. DIC policies are built to add perils like water damage, theft and liability, and the FAIR Plan lists earthquake as a separate policy to consider.
Sources
- California FAIR Plan: earthquake coverage through the CEA
- California FAIR Plan: Dwelling policy (covered perils, property types)
- California FAIR Plan: Difference in Conditions (DIC) policies
- California Earthquake Authority: participating insurers
- California Earthquake Authority: how to buy earthquake insurance
- California Earthquake Authority: homeowners policy coverages and deductibles
- California Earthquake Authority: Earthquake Insurance for Homeowners brochure (PDF)
- California Earthquake Authority: how to issue a CEA policy
- California Earthquake Authority: other earthquake insurance providers
- California Insurance Code § 10089.20: cancellation when no underlying policy
- California Insurance Code § 10089.26: who the CEA issues policies to
- California Insurance Code § 10089.28: participating insurer markets and services CEA policies
- California Department of Insurance: Earthquake Insurance consumer guide (PDF, October 2024)
- California Department of Insurance: Fact Sheet on residential insurance and the FAIR Plan (PDF, January 2025)
General information about earthquake coverage for California FAIR Plan policyholders as of October 2026, not legal advice; the California Insurance Code, the CEA’s policy forms and the FAIR Plan’s current rules control. Coverage depends on underwriting and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued.