A mother from the San Diego area was taken aback when her homeowner’s insurance premiums surged by 350% in just one year, despite being part of California’s “last resort” insurance scheme.
Crystal Nowakowski, a real estate agent in Vista, turned to the California Fair Plan for her insurance in 2023 after losing coverage with Farmers Insurance due to multiple claims.
Initially, this state-funded plan cost her about $900 annually, but that changed dramatically. In late December 2025, she opened a letter revealing that her premium had skyrocketed to around $4,000.
“When I saw that email, I thought, ‘What? This is crazy.’ They said my fire zone rating had gone from zero to two, which was a major factor, along with adjustments for inflation,” she commented.
Nowakowski did appeal the rate increase and managed to bring it down to $3,000, but she expressed concerns that it might jump another 30% to 50% come October.
The California Fair Plan refrained from commenting on her specific situation but confirmed that state regulators have authorized an average rate hike of 29.1% for the upcoming October. They mentioned that homeowners in high wildfire risk areas could see increases that far exceed this state average.
Typically, California homeowners pay around $1,335 in insurance premiums, but those in high-risk fire zones are likely to encounter much higher costs, as indicated by some insurance services.
Interestingly, the enrollment in the FAIR plan has nearly tripled over recent years, with premiums escalating by 84% from 2020 to early 2026 according to a recent study.
