A San Diego-area mom was hit with jaw-dropping sticker shock after her homeowners insurance bill skyrocketed 350% in just one year — despite being covered by California’s “last resort” insurance plan.
Chrystal Nowakowski, a real estate agent in Vista, was dropped by Farmer’s Insurance after filing too many claims and turned to the California FAIR Plan in 2023 for coverage.
The state-backed plan initially cost her just $900 a year, but that changed in a hurry. In late December 2025, Nowakowski opened her mail to find her annual premium had exploded to roughly $4,000.
“It was when I opened up that piece of mail and I, you know, I was like, what? It’s insanity. They basically told me that my fire zone rating went from a zero to two and that was the biggest factor, but that they also had to adjust for inflation,” she told ABC10.
The California Fair Plan is a last resort insurance plan and a private association made up of all insurance companies licensed to do business in California.
The plan is designed to provide “basic fire insurance coverage for high-risk properties when traditional insurance companies will not.”
Nowakowski said she appealed the decision and was able to get her rates down to $3000, but said prices would go up again between 30% to 50% in October.
The California FAIR Plan declined to comment on Nowakowski’s specific case when asked by ABC10 but confirmed that state regulators approved an average 29.1% rate increase that takes effect in October.
Officials noted that homeowners in areas facing greater wildfire risk could see premium hikes that exceed the statewide average.
California homeowners typically pay around $1335 for insurance but homes in high-risk wildfire zones have to pay significantly more, according to Hippo Insurance Services.
In recent years, FAIR Plan enrollment has nearly tripled and insurance premiums have also increased by 84% from 2020 to March 2026, according to a research conducted by Stanford.
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