Guides
Does homeowners insurance cover wildfire?
Wildfire is covered as fire under a homeowners policy. Gaps to check: dwelling limits, code upgrades, wildfire deductibles, FAIR Plan forms and mudflow.
Yes. A standard homeowners policy covers fire, and the policy does not care whether the fire started in your kitchen or three canyons away. The Insurance Information Institute puts it plainly: fire and smoke damage is covered under standard homeowners policies, including water damage caused by firefighters. What goes wrong after a wildfire is rarely a denial of the fire peril itself. It is a policy limit that was set too low, a code-upgrade bill nobody planned for, a deductible written for fire in a way the homeowner never noticed, or a policy that was never a full homeowners policy to begin with.
The wording below comes from ISO form HO 00 03 05 11, the standard HO-3. Newer ISO editions and every insurer's own form differ in details, so read your policy and declarations page.
What the HO-3 pays after a wildfire
Under the HO-3, Coverages A (dwelling) and B (other structures) insure against "direct physical loss" unless the policy excludes it. Fire is not excluded. Coverage C (personal property) is written on a named-perils basis, and "Fire or Lightning" is the first peril on the list. See named perils vs open perils coverage if the difference is new to you.
| Part of the policy | What it does in a wildfire | Limit in the 2011 ISO form |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage A, dwelling | Rebuild or repair the house and attached structures | The A limit on your declarations page |
| Coverage B, other structures | Detached garage, fence, shed, guest house (not rented out) | Up to 10% of the A limit |
| Coverage C, personal property | Furniture, clothing, electronics, contents lost to fire or smoke | The C limit, with special limits for money, jewelry and similar items |
| Coverage D, loss of use | Hotel, rental, extra food and mileage while the home is unlivable | The D limit; civil authority orders (an evacuation after nearby damage) pay for no more than two weeks |
| Trees, shrubs, plants, lawns | Fire is a covered cause | 5% of the A limit, no more than $500 per tree, shrub or plant |
| Debris removal | Clearing burned debris from covered property | Inside the damaged property's limit, plus an additional 5% if the loss exhausts it |
| Property removed | Belongings you carry out of an endangered home | Covered "from any cause" for up to 30 days |
| Ordinance or law | Added cost of rebuilding to current building codes | Up to 10% of the A limit |
Two items deserve attention. The property-removed coverage means the car-load of belongings you evacuate with is insured while it is away from the house, which matters if a fire reaches a hotel parking lot or a storage unit. And the 10% ordinance-or-law allowance is often too thin for a total loss in a place where energy codes, sprinkler requirements or setback rules have changed since the house was built. The ordinance or law coverage: paying to rebuild to code guide covers raising it.
Smoke is its own topic. If your house did not burn but the air filters, ducts and walls are contaminated, that is a claim with its own proof problems, covered in wildfire smoke damage claims.
Where wildfire claims come up short
The dwelling limit is below the rebuilding cost
This is the failure that shows up in the data. After the December 2021 Marshall Fire in Boulder County, the Colorado Division of Insurance analyzed 951 total-loss homes and reported in April 2022 how many carried less coverage than rebuilding would cost. The answer depended on the rebuilding price per square foot the division assumed: 344 homes (36%) were underinsured at $250 per square foot, 523 (55%) at $300, and 639 (67%) at $350. Only 76 homes, 8%, had guaranteed replacement cost coverage. Those were the division's initial estimates, and the division said the rebuilding-cost assumption drives the result, but the pattern is the point: limits set years earlier, or by an automatic inflation adjustment, fell behind construction prices.
An extended replacement cost endorsement adds a cushion, often 25% or 50% above the limit, depending on the insurer. It helps. It is not a guarantee. See extended and guaranteed replacement cost coverage and underinsured after a disaster: your options.
The deductible may not be the one you remember
Most policies apply the same all-other-perils deductible to every fire, wherever it started. But separate wildfire deductibles, usually a percentage of the dwelling limit, do exist in some policies. California's regulators have long held that standard fire coverage cannot be split by cause of fire, and admitted insurers there were told not to use them. In August 2026, press reports citing a Washington Post inquiry described surplus lines policies for Los Angeles homes carrying separate wildfire deductibles far above the standard deductible; the California Department of Insurance said it would review surplus lines policies. Whether that practice is lawful in your state, and for your type of insurer, is a question for your state insurance department.
Look at your declarations page and endorsements for any deductible tied to "wildfire," "brush fire" or "vegetation." Percentage deductibles are covered in percentage deductibles: how a 2% deductible really works.
You have a FAIR Plan or dwelling-fire policy, not a homeowners policy
Many homeowners in high-risk areas now carry a FAIR Plan policy because standard insurers declined them. The California FAIR Plan's dwelling policy is a named-perils form; its own description lists fire and lightning, internal explosion and smoke, with optional coverages such as vandalism and malicious mischief at extra cost, and the California Department of Insurance calls the current policy a "limited fire policy." It pays wildfire losses. It does not pay for a burst pipe or a theft, and it carries no liability coverage. FAIR Plan customers who want the rest add a Difference in conditions (DIC) policy policy from another insurer. The guide on FAIR plans explained: the insurer of last resort for homes describes how these plans work in other states.
The ground fails after the fire
A burned hillside sheds mud when it rains. The HO-3 excludes earth movement, flood and surface water, so debris flows and landslides in the first winter after a fire are generally not covered. A federal flood policy does not treat every slide as a flood either; see landslides and mudflow: what's covered. One exception that helps: FEMA's flood insurance manual allows a one-day waiting period instead of 30 for flooding that originates on federal land where post-wildfire conditions caused or worsened it, if coverage was bought by the fire's containment date or within 60 days afterward (FEMA Flood Insurance Manual, October 2025). That exception is narrow, and ordinary buyers face the 30-day wait.
Before the next fire season: seven checks
- Re-run the rebuilding estimate. Use the home replacement cost estimator or ask your insurer for its current estimate and the inputs behind it, then compare with a local builder's per-square-foot price.
- Ask whether you have extended or guaranteed replacement cost, and read what percentage it is and whether it applies to code upgrades.
- Raise the ordinance-or-law limit if the house is older than the current code.
- Find the Coverage D limit and any time limit. Say your D limit is 20% of a $400,000 dwelling limit: $80,000 for rent, meals and other extra costs. A rebuild after a total loss can outlast that. Some states set minimum durations; California's is 24 months with extensions after a declared emergency.
- Find your contents limit and build a home inventory builder with photographs of each room, stored off site.
- Read the deductible pages for any fire- or wildfire-specific deductible.
- Know your fallback. If your insurer nonrenews, a FAIR Plan or surplus lines policy may be all that is available. owning a home in a wildfire area: keeping your coverage covers the options.
For the claim itself, see rebuilding after a wildfire: the insurance claim.
Key takeaways
- A standard HO-3 covers fire, so wildfire damage to the house, other structures, contents and living expenses is covered, subject to limits and your deductible.
- The usual shortfall is a dwelling limit below rebuilding cost; in the Colorado Division of Insurance's 2022 Marshall Fire analysis, between 36% and 67% of total-loss homes were underinsured, depending on the cost per square foot assumed.
- Check the deductible pages for wildfire-specific deductibles, which exist in some policies, and confirm whether you hold a full homeowners policy or a fire-only FAIR Plan or dwelling policy.
- Post-fire mudflows and landslides are excluded under most homeowners policies; ask about flood coverage before the rainy season, not after.
- Policy wording and state rules vary, so use your declarations page and your state insurance department for specifics.