The specialty market, explained
When the standard insurers say no, the specialty insurers are what is next. They are part of the regulated insurance industry, the technical name is surplus lines, and they work only through licensed agents.
These guides cover what non-admitted actually means and the one-page state notice you sign before one of these policies starts. They also cover how to judge an insurer's financial strength.
- The insurance market built for the homes insurers turn down.More than 300,000 California homes are now insured in the surplus lines market. What it is, how it is regulated, and what the D-1 form means.
- Is a specialty insurance policy safe? Here is the honest answer.Non-admitted does not mean unsafe or unregulated. What surplus lines insurance is, the one real difference, and how to check an insurer's rating.
- The D-1 is a notice, not a warning.Before a surplus lines home policy starts, California requires you to sign the D-1 disclosure form. What it says, and what a missing D-1 means.
- Standard insurers get checked first. That order is for you.A diligent search checks standard carriers before the surplus lines market, in the same pass. Why that order protects a California homeowner.
The search is free and takes about 3 minutes.
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