Most standard home insurance policies cover fire damage. But if you live in an area prone to wildfires, you may have trouble finding affordable coverage.
National Association of Real Estate Editors member
Bylines include Forbes, Bankrate, and CBS News
Aly is a reporter specializing in real estate, mortgages, and personal finance. You can find her work in Hearst newspapers and numerous financial publications.
5+ years in insurance and personal finance content
Ashley is a seasoned personal finance editor who’s produced a variety of digital content, including insurance, credit cards, mortgages, and consumer lending products.
University of Chicago graduate with statistics degree
Chase spearheads analytics for Insurify’s data insights team. With his deep expertise in insurance data, Chase is often interviewed on industry trends.
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Every 88 seconds in the U.S., a fire department responds to a home structure fire, according to the National Fire Protection Association.[1]
Most homeowners policies cover damage from multiple types of fires, including wildfires. But if you live in an area that’s at a higher risk of wildfires, your homeowners policy might exclude wildfire damage.
Fire insurance isn’t a separate type of insurance; it’s part of a standard home insurance policy. Here’s what you should know about finding fire protection coverage for your home.
Quick Facts
A standard home insurance policy with $300,000 in dwelling coverage and a $1,000 deductible costs $2,529 per year, according to Insurify data.
Homeowners insurance policies typically don’t cover intentionally set fires and arson.
A basic home insurance policy covers 16 main perils, including fire and smoke.
What does fire insurance cover?
Fire is one of the main 16 perils that a basic home insurance policy covers. Your insurance will pay to repair your home’s structure if a fire causes damage. It also covers medical costs, legal liability, damaged personal property, and loss of use, which includes additional living expenses that stem from a fire event.
Unless you live in a wildfire-prone area, your home insurance policy provides coverage for accidental fire damage from the following perils:[2]
Fire and lightning
If lightning strikes your home and causes a fire, home insurance will pay to repair your home’s structure.
Explosion
If an explosion in or near your home causes a fire, a standard home insurance policy would cover the repairs.
Damage from aircraft and vehicles
If a plane or car crashed into your home and started a fire, your home insurance should cover the damage.
Electrical problems
Home insurance typically covers fire damage stemming from electrical issues, such as faulty wiring or a damaged electrical panel.
Your home insurance policy can also cover chimney-related fires, as long as you’ve been maintaining the chimney properly. It may not cover fires that stem from poor maintenance or negligence.
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Fire damage homeowners insurance won’t cover
Home insurance never covers arson. It won’t cover fires that occur out of negligence or intentional foul play, though it usually covers accidental fires.
In some cases, home insurance policies may not cover wildfires, particularly in wildfire-prone areas like California and Washington. Some insurers will increase premiums or exclude coverage for wildfires. Others may not offer home insurance policies in these areas altogether.
If you live in a wildfire-prone area, you may need to purchase a separate fire insurance policy to supplement your home insurance policy. You can look into acquiring fire coverage through a difference in conditions policy (DIC) or your state-sponsored FAIR (Fair Access to Insurance Requirements) Plan for high-risk policyholders.
You can select coverage for specific losses and events, like damage from fires, floods, earthquakes, and mudslides. You can also combine this type of coverage with a FAIR Plan for more comprehensive home insurance coverage.[3]
How much does fire insurance cost?
Since most home insurance policies include fire as a covered peril, fire insurance usually won’t cost you any additional money unless you need to purchase a DIC policy to cover wildfires or a similar event. The average cost to insure a home with $300,000 in dwelling coverage is $2,532 per year, Insurify data shows.
The specific cost to cover your home will depend on various factors, including the cost of labor and building materials in your area, any high-liability features you may have (a pool, for example), and the coverage limits and deductibles you choose. You may also pay more if you’d like additional coverage for higher-value belongings, like jewelry or artwork.
Below, you can compare the average annual insurance premiums by dwelling coverage limit across many popular insurers.
The below rates are estimated rates current as of: Tuesday, August 19 at 12:00 PM PDT.
University of Chicago graduate with statistics degree
Chase spearheads analytics for Insurify’s data insights team. With his deep expertise in insurance data, Chase is often interviewed on industry trends.
University of Chicago graduate with statistics degree
Chase spearheads analytics for Insurify’s data insights team. With his deep expertise in insurance data, Chase is often interviewed on industry trends.
University of Chicago graduate with statistics degree
Chase spearheads analytics for Insurify’s data insights team. With his deep expertise in insurance data, Chase is often interviewed on industry trends.
University of Chicago graduate with statistics degree
Chase spearheads analytics for Insurify’s data insights team. With his deep expertise in insurance data, Chase is often interviewed on industry trends.
University of Chicago graduate with statistics degree
Chase spearheads analytics for Insurify’s data insights team. With his deep expertise in insurance data, Chase is often interviewed on industry trends.
Cost of homeowners insurance in wildfire-prone states
Insurance companies often decline to cover fires in areas at a higher risk of wildfires since they’re much more likely to have to pay out on a claim. This can also limit a homeowner’s availability to get fire coverage since they’ll likely have fewer insurance companies to choose from.
The states in the table below have an increased risk of wildfires, according to FEMA’s National Risk Index. The national average cost of home insurance for $300,000 in dwelling coverage is $2,532 per year, Insurify data shows. As you can see in the table, a $300,000 policy in some of these wildfire-prone states can cost much more than the national average.
State
Average Annual Premium: $300K in Dwelling Coverage
Arizona
$2,028
California
$2,160
Idaho
$1,668
Nevada
$1,260
New Mexico
$2,592
Texas
$4,140
Washington
$1,392
Source: FEMA and Insurify
How to insure a home that’s at high risk of fire
If you’re in an area particularly prone to fires, you may have a hard time getting insurance coverage for fire events, specifically wildfires. If this applies to you, you should shop around for coverage. Even if certain insurers exclude coverage in your area, some may simply charge you a higher premium to account for the added risk.
You can consider a FAIR Plan — a type of state-sponsored plan that offers coverage for residents. The availability, coverage types, and limits of these plans vary by state, so check with your state’s insurance department to see what’s available. Often used in tandem with a FAIR Plan, a DIC policy can also fill in the coverage gaps of your main insurance policy.
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How to file a fire insurance claim
In the event of a fire, you’ll want to file an insurance claim as soon as possible to make sure your insurance company can process it quickly and you can make repairs and get your home back in good condition.
You’ll typically follow these steps to file a fire insurance claim:
Take photos and videos of any damage. You’ll need this information and documentation when filing your claim.
Call your insurance company or insurance agent if you have one. Report the incident, and give a rundown of what occurred and when.
Submit supplemental information. Send your claims adjuster any photos and videos you have, as well as the police or fire department report.
Wait for the adjuster to visit. They’ll come to your property and assess the damage.
Receive your payment. Once the insurance company finishes processing your claim, you’ll receive the insurance funds (usually via check). You can then use this money to start making repairs.
Good to Know
The timeline for these steps varies by insurer, but the insurer must acknowledge your claim within a certain number of days of receiving it, depending on your state. Keep in mind that more extensive damage may take longer to assess and repair, so make sure you contact your insurance company quickly to ensure the process moves as efficiently as possible.
What to do if your insurer denies your fire insurance claim
If your insurer denies your fire insurance claim, you have options. First, look at the official denial from your insurer to find the reason the company denied your claim. The insurance company may deny your claim if the policy excludes the fire event or if the fire was intentionally set. In some cases, the company may say you provided insufficient information.
If you didn’t provide enough information, you may be able to send additional videos, photos, and receipts to have the claim reopened. You can also ask for an independent appraisal of the damage or request arbitration — an out-of-court legal process to compare your and your insurer’s cases.
Finally, you can contact your state’s department of insurance or an attorney if you feel the insurer denied your claim illegally. Hiring a public adjuster may help, too. These are insurance adjusters who aren’t employed by any specific company and can give you professional help with your claim.
Fire insurance FAQs
If you still have questions about how fire insurance works or how to file an insurance claim after a fire, the following information should help answer them.
Is fire insurance different from homeowners insurance?
No. Fire is one of the 16 main covered perils in a typical home insurance policy. But residents of wildfire-prone areas may face exclusions for wildfire events. In this case, you’ll need to purchase a FAIR Plan, a DIC policy, or both.
How much does fire insurance cost per month?
Fire insurance is part of a standard home insurance policy. Homeowners pay an average of $2,529 per year for a policy with $300,000 in dwelling coverage and a $1,000 deductible, according to Insurify data. If you live in a wildfire-prone area, you’ll likely pay more for home insurance coverage.
How can you tell if your policy covers wildfires?
You can read through your policy to see if wildfires are listed as a named peril. If they are, it means your policy would cover damage from wildfires. If not, you may need to look into supplemental wildfire coverage. You can also contact an insurance agent for details about your specific policy so you know what it covers and what it doesn’t.
Is fire insurance mandatory?
No. Fire insurance isn’t mandatory. But if you have a mortgage on your home, your lender will probably require you to have home insurance (which includes coverage for fires) to protect its investment.
What happens if you don’t have fire insurance?
If you don’t have a home insurance policy, or your policy doesn’t list fires as a named peril, you’d be responsible for covering any damages out of pocket. This could be very expensive if a fire completely destroyed your home and you needed to rebuild. Having a standard home insurance policy in place can give you peace of mind and protect your finances.
Methodology
Insurify data scientists analyzed rates from more than 180 home insurance companies sourced directly from Insurify’s partner companies and Quadrant Information Services. Rates span all 50 states and Washington, D.C., and quote averages represent the mean price for a given coverage level and geographic area. To ensure data reliability, only insurers meeting minimum quote thresholds were included in the analysis.
Unless otherwise specified, quoted rates reflect the average cost for homeowners with no prior claims and good credit with a home construction year of 1980. The default coverage assumptions include:
Default Coverage Assumptions
Dwelling coverage: $300,000
Deductible: $1,000
Personal property limit: $25,000
Liability limit: $300,000
Additional data points beyond these default values are sourced from Insurify’s proprietary database. Rates are updated monthly.
Aly J. Yale is a freelance writer and reporter covering real estate, mortgages, and personal finance. Her work has been published in Forbes, Business Insider, Money, CBS News, US News & World Report, and The Miami Herald. She has a bachelor’s degree in radio-TV-film and news-editorial journalism from the Bob Schieffer College of Communication at TCU and is a member of the National Association of Real Estate Editors.
Aly has been a contributor at Insurify since September 2023.
5+ years in insurance and personal finance content
Ashley is a seasoned personal finance editor who’s produced a variety of digital content, including insurance, credit cards, mortgages, and consumer lending products.
University of Chicago graduate with statistics degree
Chase spearheads analytics for Insurify’s data insights team. With his deep expertise in insurance data, Chase is often interviewed on industry trends.
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