Insurance nightmare for SoCal mom as her premium jumps 350% and it could be higher for others
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....