Resiliency 101: stay insurable
A fire-resilient house will keep your family safe, bring your bills down, and protect your property value.
Here’s what you need to know.
*This information has been checked for accuracy and non-bias by licensed professionals, subject matter experts, and previous survivors. Consult with a licensed professional about your specific situation.
the warnings
If you talk to people who have already gone through mega-fires, they’ll tell you bluntly: “If you don’t rebuild to be fire-resilient, you’ll struggle to get insurance.”
Insurance companies often pull out of areas that have burned, or they jack up rates to the point where coverage is unaffordable. If you don’t meet fire-resilient building standards, you may find your premiums skyrocket - if you can get a policy at all.
When that happens, the fallback is the California FAIR Plan. It’s a bare-bones option: It often doesn’t cover your belongings inside the house or “loss of use” (the cost of living elsewhere while your home is uninhabitable).
Ending up on the FAIR Plan can drag down your property value and make it harder to sell, because buyers don’t want the risk of owning an uninsurable home.
the solution
By making some adjustments to your plans or existing home, you can qualify for certifications that keep you insurable - (in some cases, you can even get a discount on your premium!). These adjustments don’t have to be super expensive.
What is
Resiliency?
In simplest terms, a "hardened" or "resilient" home is one that flames, radiant heat, and embers have a hard time setting on fire. The exterior isn’t flammable, there’s nothing combustible immediately around it, and there are no openings where embers can get in and catch things inside, like insulation, your interiors, etc.
With a new build, achieving "Resiliency" is a matter of adjusting a few things in your plans. With a standing home, it’s a matter of retrofitting what you already have, which can be a little more expensive and involved, but still very doable.
what do
i need to do?
The most surefire way to set yourself up to be able to get insurance is to make sure your home is built (or retrofitted) to “Wildfire Prepared” Standard.
This is a set of guidelines issued by a non-profit research institute called IBHS, which is funded by the insurance industry to find which resiliency measures are most effective.
The insurance industry gambles that your home won’t get damaged or destroyed, so the better protected your property is, the safer bet you are. When you build to IBHS standards, insurance companies see you as a lower risk — and often reward you for it.
what’s
involved?
There are two levels: “Base” and “Plus”. Both can qualify you for discounts from insurers.
Much of what’s required to at least meet “Base” is required for all new builds in California.
That includes things like:
Ember-resistant exterior vents
Just means using a smaller (1/8”) mesh or approved flame- and ember-resistant vents
Class A Fire-rated roof assembly, like tile or asphalt composition shingles
Required for all new builds
Non-combustible siding 6” up from your foundation
There are also a ton of materials that qualify that are paintable, look just like wood, etc.
5 feet with nothing combustible around your structures
You may have heard this referred to as “Zone zero”
The major difference between “Base” and “Plus” is the spacing between structures (30 feet), which may not be possible for everyone, depending on your lot size. It adds things like:
Upgraded windows
Required for 7A homes, too, but with both panes tempered
Enclosed eaves
Noncombustible siding, trim and decking
Stucco counts!
"Plus" is not mandatory for insurability - meeting "Base" is excellent, but if there is any way to meet “Plus” you will likely get steeper discounts and your home will maximize resiliency.
Is it
required?
If you fall within a "Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone", you are required to build to Chapter 7A, which is very close to the IBHS standard. (If you meet the IBHS "Wildfire Prepared Plus" standard, you will exceed the requirements of Chapter 7A.)
NOTE: As of 1/1/2026, homes in the “High Fire Hazard Severity Zone” will also be required to build to 7A, so it may be wise to build to this resiliency standard now as opposed to having to retrofit or adjust in three months.
But…
Insurers aren’t concerned with what’s required, just how safe the home is. Building resiliently is critical to staying insurable and protecting your property value.
How much
does it
cost?
Annoyingly, the answer is it depends.
On a new build, with no grants, discounts, rebates or bundling with neighbors:
Building to WFPH Plus can add between $15-30K in construction costs compared to a home built with traditional materials.
Building to WFPH Base can be done for less than $10K compared to a traditional home, and when compared to the costs for building to CA's WUI Code Part 7 (previously known as Ch7A), constructing a home to WFPH Base is price neutral if not cheaper in some cases.
Anything that is required will fall under your “Ordinance & Law Coverage”, if you have it.
For a guide to your coverages and figuring out what you have, click here.
Does my
insurance
cover this?
If you have “Ordinance & Law” coverage, your policy will cover required mitigation measures, up to your policy limits. You’ll need to check if you fall within a “High Fire Severity Risk Zone” to know if you are required to build to Chapter 7A - in which case, your insurance will cover it.
NOTE: As of 1/1/2026, homes in the “High Fire Hazard Severity Zone” will also be required to build to 7A.
Here’s how you check if that’s you:
Put your address into the map at this link.
If your home is in a “Local Responsibility Area” and in the red, “very high”, you have to build to Chapter 7A.
i want to do
wildfire prepared.
What do i
need to do?
Send this handbook to your architect or builder and ask them to confirm whether your home will meet the standard.
Amend your contract with them to ensure that the finished product meets IBHS Wildfire Prepared Standard.