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Home Insurance · Hollywood Hills

Home insurance in Hollywood Hills, when the carrier says no.

Laurel Canyon, Nichols Canyon, Mount Olympus, the Bird Streets: the Hollywood Hills have more homes on the FAIR Plan than almost anywhere in the city, and the houses are older, closer together and harder to reach than the ZIP's reputation suggests. I place them from Beverly Hills with admitted carriers where they still write, surplus lines where they don't, and the FAIR Plan with a DIC policy and excess where nothing else will.

By Sam Alishahi · CA Insurance License #4348151 · Reviewed October 2026 · How this page is researched

Hollywood Hills at a glance

In 90046, insurers declined 10.0% of homeowners renewals in 2023 and 27.8% of insured homes were on the FAIR Plan in 2022, against 9.4% and 3.2% statewide. I shop admitted carriers first, then surplus lines, then the FAIR Plan with a DIC policy and any excess layer, bound together with one set of dates.

What the numbers say about 90046

Of the homeowners policies in 90046 that came up for renewal in 2023, insurers declined 10.0% (456 of 4,544), against 9.4% statewide. In 2022, 27.8% of insured homes in 90046 were on the California FAIR Plan (1,850 of 6,664), against 3.2% statewide. Those are California Department of Insurance figures, by ZIP code, and they describe Hollywood Hills better than any carrier's appetite guide does.

The year-by-year non-renewal shares for 90046: 2020: 12.8%, 2021: 17.0%, 2022: 17.8%, 2023: 10.0%. The ZIP lookup on this site shows the same figures for any California address.

Why Hollywood Hills is hard to insure

The Hollywood Hills part of 90046 is inside the City of Los Angeles and served by the Los Angeles Fire Department (the ZIP also takes in a piece of West Hollywood, which is County Fire), with most hillside parcels mapped in the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone and on LAFD's annual brush clearance inspection list. What makes the hills different from Bel Air is density: older homes on small lots along one-lane canyon roads, hillside foundations, and a lot of 1920s to 1960s construction with original wiring and plumbing, which underwriters rate on top of the fire zone. A rebuild here is a hillside engineering job, so dwelling limits copied from an older policy are usually short.

The Sunset Fire on January 8, 2025 burned 43 acres in Runyon Canyon and forced evacuations across the hills on the same night the Palisades and Eaton fires were burning; it was contained the next day and no homes were lost, but 90046 went onto the amended moratorium list a week later, but the event is in the files of every carrier that still writes 90046, and some stopped writing new business in the hills after it.

How a Hollywood Hills home gets insured

Three ways a home here gets insured, in the order I try them:

  • Admitted carriers. Still writing for some homes: newer construction, ember-resistant vents and roofing, cleared defensible space, a clean loss history. Appetite is limited and changes street by street.
  • Surplus lines. For homes the admitted market declines. Not backed by the state's guaranty association (CIGA), a point I put in writing with the fee disclosure before anything is bound.
  • FAIR Plan plus a DIC policy. The FAIR Plan covers fire or lightning, internal explosion and smoke, up to three million in dwelling coverage for a residential property. A difference-in-conditions policy adds liability, theft, water damage and additional living expenses. Above three million, an excess layer sits on top. The three policies need one set of dates and matching limits, which is the broker's job; the FAIR Plan sells none of the other two.

Before you accept the FAIR Plan quote

Two things to check before accepting a FAIR Plan quote. After a declared wildfire emergency the Insurance Commissioner can order a moratorium on cancellations and non-renewals for ZIP codes in or next to the fire perimeter, under Insurance Code section 675.1. Bulletin 2025-1, issued January 9, 2025 and amended on January 17, covered every ZIP code on this page for one year from the January 7, 2025 emergency declaration; that year ended on January 7, 2026, so a notice received now stands unless a new order names your ZIP. AB 2038, signed in September 2026, makes future moratoriums two years long from January 1, 2027. The Department of Insurance keeps the list of orders and ZIPs. And California's Safer from Wildfires standard, in force since the 2022 regulation, requires carriers that rate on wildfire risk to give discounts for ember-resistant vents, a Class A roof, a five-foot ember-resistant zone, cleared defensible space and the other listed measures, so a home that was declined two years ago may qualify again after the work is done.

Trusts, LLCs and lenders

Many homes here are held in a trust or an LLC. The named insured has to match the title holder, the trust or company is added where the carrier allows it, and the lender's mortgagee clause has to read exactly as the loan documents require, or the evidence of insurance bounces at escrow. I handle that with the escrow officer directly.

What I need to quote

The address, year built and square footage, roof type and year, updates to wiring, plumbing and heating, how the title is held, the current declarations page if there is one, and the date coverage must start. A declarations page and a renewal or non-renewal notice are enough to begin; the rest I can pull from public records and ask about as I go.

Common questions

Does an older home in the hills have any admitted options?

Some, when the roof, wiring, plumbing and heating have been updated and the brush clearance is current; carriers ask for the dates of each update. Without them the market is surplus lines or the FAIR Plan with a DIC policy.

Is a FAIR Plan policy enough for my lender?

Usually, for the hazard requirement, when the dwelling limit meets the loan's requirement. The DIC policy is for you: liability, theft, water damage and living expenses are not the lender's concern, but they are yours.

My rebuild cost is more than the FAIR Plan limit. Can the home still be covered?

Yes. The FAIR Plan limit applies to its dwelling coverage; an excess policy covers the rebuild cost above it, coordinated with the DIC policy so the three documents describe one house.

Can I buy the DIC policy from the FAIR Plan?

No. The FAIR Plan writes only its own policy. A difference-in-conditions policy comes from a separate admitted or surplus lines insurer, through a broker.

General information about home insurance in Hollywood Hills as of October 2026, not legal advice. Department of Insurance figures are by ZIP code (90046) for 2020–2023 and FAIR Plan 2022; carrier appetite, moratorium orders and fire hazard maps change. Check your parcel's zone with the fire agency named above. Coverage depends on underwriting and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued.

Hollywood Hills homes

Send the declarations page and the notice, if there is one.

Your current policy, any renewal or non-renewal notice and how the title is held are enough for me to take the home to market.

Alishahi Insurance · Saman Alishahi, independent insurance broker, California License #4348151, 439 N Canon Dr, Penthouse, Beverly Hills, CA 90210. Serving Hollywood Hills from the Beverly Hills office; no office in Hollywood Hills. General information, not a quote or a promise of coverage. Some policies may be placed with nonadmitted (surplus lines) insurers, which are not members of the California Insurance Guarantee Association (CIGA).

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