Your insurer said no. Your home can still be insured.
A non-renewal notice is not a verdict on your house. It is one company's decision, and it starts a clock that California law controls.
First, check the dates on the notice
California Insurance Code section 678 requires a non-renewal notice, delivered or mailed, at least 75 days (90 days beginning January 1, 2028) before your policy expires. Three dates matter: the date printed on the letter, the postmark, and your expiration date. For a mailed notice, the law adds five calendar days to the notice period, or 10 if it was mailed from or to another state.
If the notice went out late, your policy stays active, unchanged, for 75 days (90 days beginning January 1, 2028) from the day it was sent. Insurers get this wrong. Keep the envelope.
What to do, in order
- Read the stated reason. Wildfire risk, a claim, the roof, or the company leaving your area all point in different directions.
- Count the days from the postmark to your expiration date, allowing for mail days, and put your real last day of coverage on the calendar.
- Start looking in week one. The most expensive outcomes belong to the people who started with three weeks left.
- Do not cancel anything and do not let the policy lapse. If you have a mortgage, your servicer can buy a policy for you that costs more and protects less.
What Casa does
One short form about your home, about 3 minutes. Casa takes it to the standard insurers first, because if a big name will write your home, that is almost always the better answer. If they say no, the search moves to the specialty insurers built for homes like yours, which work only through licensed agents. Your quotes come back in under a minute to 24 hours, depending on the home. They usually show right on your screen, and we email you a link to come back to.
One company's no is not the market's answer
Insurers are not making the same decision as each other. One is managing wildfire risk across a whole region, another has room in the same ZIP code, and a third is built for the risks the first two stepped away from. The letter in your hand is one company's decision on one day.
Questions people ask us
How long do I have?
At least 75 days (90 days beginning January 1, 2028) from the day the notice was mailed or delivered, under California Insurance Code section 678. For a mailed notice, the law adds five calendar days to the notice period, or 10 if it was mailed from or to another state. If the notice went out late, your policy stays active on the same terms, and that period runs from when the notice was given.
Is a non-renewal the same as a cancellation?
No. A non-renewal ends coverage at the end of your policy year, after at least 75 days' notice (90 days beginning January 1, 2028). A cancellation ends it partway through the year with far less warning. If your letter says cancelled, treat it as urgent.
Does being non-renewed count against me?
Insurers ask about it, and honesty is the right answer, but whole regions were non-renewed in a single decision for reasons that had nothing to do with the house. The specialty insurers exist for homes carrying that history.
Do I need to tell my mortgage company?
Your servicer tracks whether the property is insured and will find out on its own. What matters is that the new policy is active before the old one ends and that your lender is named on it. Your agent handles the proof of insurance.