Does Marin County count as high wildfire risk for home insurance?

The 26 ZIP codes the FAIR Plan files under Marin County held 4,742 of its policies on September 30, 2026, up 283% from 1,238 on September 30, 2022. Statewide, the FAIR Plan, a fallback for homes without a regular policy, grew 150% over the same years.

Marin's count was still climbing in the latest year, from 4,151 on September 30, 2025, to 4,742 on September 30, 2026.

On September 30, 2026, Mill Valley's 94941 held the most, 975, followed by Sausalito's 94965 with 492 and San Rafael's 94901 with 340. The steepest climbs came from small bases. Novato's 94947 went from 18 policies in 2022 to 274, and San Rafael's 94903 from 16 to 237.

Just 1.8% of Marin's insured homes were on the FAIR Plan in 2022, under California's 3.2%, by Department of Insurance data. Inverness, at 25.5%, and Sausalito, at 12.6%, stood far above that.

On September 30, 2026, all 26 Marin ZIP codes wore a flag the FAIR Plan carries, which its file uses where insurance is hard to find. The same was true on March 31, 2026.

Of Marin's home policies outside the FAIR Plan, 4,259 were non-renewed in 2023, a 6.0% rate against California's 8.7%. A January 2025 Department of Insurance fact sheet says research finds most non-renewals start with the owner, as when a home is sold or the owner changes insurers.

The Plan's ratings split Marin sharply. On September 30, 2026, 98% of its Forest Knolls policies and 96% in San Geronimo carried its High wildfire rating, with 67% in Woodacre.

Inverness stood at 59% and Point Reyes Station at 53% on September 30, 2026. In Sausalito, Belvedere Tiburon and San Rafael's two ZIP codes, 3% or fewer did.

On the state's hazard maps, far more Marin land is zoned High than Very High. The State Fire Marshal's figures, which pair its 2024 state-land map with the 2025 local maps, count 114,828 Marin acres as High and 28,911 as Very High.

Zones also set building rules. In unincorporated Marin, Ordinance 3837, adopted December 9, 2025, applies California's Wildland-Urban Interface Code to new buildings and substantial remodels in Moderate, High and Very High zones.

Appendix C, a Department of Insurance table, gives 21.0% of Marin's dwelling units high or very high wildfire risk scores. The figure for California as a whole is 12.1%. It is a modelers' estimate, built on Marin's housing count at the start of 2015.

The zone maps are meant for local planning, the Department of Insurance's alert of April 4, 2025 says. Insurers set prices and pick homes with wildfire models of their own, and your home's wildfire score comes out of them.

Bulletin 2020-11 listed ZIP codes including Inverness, Point Reyes Station, Bolinas and Nicasio under the Woodward Fire moratorium, for one year from August 18, 2020. That protection has ended.

Marin voters passed Measure C in March 2020 with 70.8% support, the Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority says. Tiburon and Belvedere were left out of the measure.

The 10-year parcel tax, which began in 2020-21, charges up to 10 cents per building square foot. It funds the authority, a joint powers agency of 17 member agencies covering most of the county.

Inspectors from the authority and local fire departments evaluate homes for defensible space and home hardening. Owners get an online Wildfire Risk Report with recommendations, and enforcement stays with the local fire agency.

The authority's pages do not tie the report to any insurance price. It is still a dated record of your home's condition, and home hardening discounts explains what that work can earn.

The Board of Forestry named four Marin agencies to its 2026 Fire Risk Reduction Community List, which runs from July 1, 2026. They are the Inverness Public Utility District and the Novato, Southern Marin and Stinson Beach fire protection districts. The County of Marin and the Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority are not on it.

The FAIR Plan's discount sheet, dated November 2025, extends its community discount to homes inside listed communities and to homes inside a Firewise USA site in good standing. It also says those discounts may change.

Seasonal homes are 3.1% of Marin's housing units in Census estimates for 2020 to 2024, a bit above 2.4% statewide. On the coast the share is far higher: 67.7% in Stinson Beach and 62.8% in Dillon Beach.

Casa's questionnaire covers a West Marin second home too, with a few questions on how often it is used.

An insurer declining to renew must deliver notice, or mail it, at least 75 days (90 days beginning January 1, 2028) earlier than the renewal date.

Marin homes on the FAIR Plan have fire, lightning and smoke coverage, and wind and hail only if you add them. The policy carries no liability coverage for an injury on your property, and it excludes theft.

At each renewal, ask standard and specialty insurers whether one homeowners policy could replace it. Cancel the FAIR Plan policy only after the new one starts.

Bring these to the search:

• Any Wildfire Risk Report from a Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority evaluation.
• The roof's material and age, with any replacement invoice.
• Dated photos of cleared brush and trimmed trees.
• The declarations page of the policy you hold today.