Mercury Insurance Proposes New Home Insurance Rates in California
Mercury Insurance has asked state regulators to approve changes to its California homeowners insurance program as part of California’s new Sustainable Insurance Strategy. This plan is designed to make home insurance more available in areas at higher risk of wildfires.
One major update is the use of a new wildfire risk model, which better predicts the potential damage from future fires. With this, Mercury hopes to expand coverage in communities that have struggled to find affordable insurance and have often had to rely on the California FAIR Plan, a costly option with limited coverage.
What this means for you:
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Mercury is proposing an average rate increase of 6.9%, though not everyone will see the same change.
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Homeowners in higher wildfire-risk areas may see larger increases.
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Those in lower-risk areas could even see a decrease.
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To help offset these changes, Mercury is introducing new discounts aimed at making homes and communities safer.
Enhanced Wildfire Mitigation Discounts:
*All of the discounts above apply only to the Wildfire portion of the premium
- Mercury will expand existing discounts for homeowners who take steps to reduce wildfire risks.
- The discounts will be based on efforts such as:
- Clearing Vegetation
- Upgrading vents and/or fire-resistant construction materials
- Have all documentation/certification readily available
Key updates starting October 15, 2025:
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A new wildfire hazard scoring system will replace older tools, giving more accurate assessments of each property.
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Instead of rating by broad ZIP codes, Mercury will now use more detailed territory data, meaning rates will be based more closely on your exact location.
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Your address will be validated in the system to make sure your property is rated correctly.
Why this matters:
Mercury says these changes will help them continue providing coverage in wildfire-prone areas—something many other companies have pulled back from. Their goal is to give California homeowners more choices and stability in a difficult insurance market.
If you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to reach out to your agent or email us at mail [at] allcoinsurance [dot] com.