Why Landlord Insurance Is Non Renewing in El Segundo and Manhattan Beach Even Without Wildfire Risk

Published August 10, 2026

El Segundo and Manhattan Beach are coastal, flat, and low wildfire risk, yet landlord policies there are still getting non renewed. The cause is not local peril. It is statewide carrier exposure management under California's rate rules, and California Department of Insurance data confirms the retreat is a statewide pattern.

The short answer

Non renewals in El Segundo and Manhattan Beach are not about local fire danger. Both cities are coastal, flat, and low on wildfire risk models. California Department of Insurance records show carriers are managing exposure statewide, pulling back market share and new business broadly under rate regulation and reinsurance cost pressure that applies regardless of any one property's peril score.

Last verified: August 10, 2026

The pattern owners are seeing

A landlord in El Segundo or Manhattan Beach gets a non renewal notice. There is no brush nearby, no canyon, no history of fire on the block. The natural assumption is that the insurer made a mistake, or that the notice is really about something specific to the property.

Often it is neither. California's home and landlord insurance market has been in a multi year contraction that CDI itself has documented in a string of public actions since 2023. Carriers are not only shedding wildfire zone risk. They are managing their overall California exposure, and a policy in a low risk coastal city can get caught in the same underwriting retreat as a policy in the foothills.

What CDI has actually said, on the record

Commissioner Ricardo Lara launched the Sustainable Insurance Strategy on September 21, 2023. The announcement is explicit about the scope of the problem: insurance companies had "stopped writing new homeowners and commercial policies, ceased renewing existing customers, and raised rates significantly" statewide, not only in mapped wildfire zones (CDI press release, September 21, 2023).

That release also disclosed the mechanism regulators were most worried about. Every non renewal that lands on the FAIR Plan, California's insurer of last resort, makes the FAIR Plan bigger and less stable, which in turn gives standard carriers another reason to keep shrinking their book. CDI's December 13, 2023 progress report to the Assembly put a number on that spiral: FAIR Plan policies grew 20 percent in 2023 alone (CDI press release, December 13, 2023).

By March 2024, in the second phase of the strategy, CDI's own framing described carriers as having "increased rates while pulling back from higher risk properties where the FAIR Plan is now the only option," again a statewide description of underwriting behavior, not a city by city one (CDI press release, March 14, 2024).

The July 26, 2024 FAIR Plan modernization release goes further and names the dynamic directly: "several insurance companies are further withdrawing from the California market by pausing writing new policies or reducing their market share in at-risk areas" (CDI press release, July 26, 2024). That release also raised FAIR Plan commercial coverage limits to $20 million per building, an acknowledgment that the residual market was absorbing risk the private market no longer wanted anywhere in the state.

The reform meant to reverse it

The regulation that actually tries to force carriers back into distressed coverage areas is the Net Cost of Reinsurance in Ratemaking rule, issued December 30, 2024. It requires insurers to write comprehensive homeowners coverage equal to at least 85 percent of their statewide market share in wildfire distressed regions, stepping up 5 percent every two years until that threshold is met (CDI press release, December 30, 2024). In exchange, insurers are now allowed to factor reinsurance costs into their rate filings, something California had not previously permitted.

That trade, more rate flexibility for insurers in exchange for a hard statewide writing commitment, is the core of the Sustainable Insurance Strategy. It is a regulatory response to a statewide retreat, not a wildfire zone problem being solved locally.

Where Proposition 103 fits

California has regulated property insurance rates under a prior approval system since voters passed Proposition 103. CDI's own rate filing page confirms the review process "has been greatly affected by the passage of Proposition 103" (insurance.ca.gov rate filings page). Under prior approval, an insurer cannot simply raise rates or change underwriting appetite unilaterally. It has to file for CDI review, and that review process has historically run slower than the industry's cost pressures, particularly reinsurance costs, have moved.

That mismatch is part of why carriers manage risk through non renewals and new business pauses instead of through rate increases alone. A non renewal does not require the same regulatory approval a rate hike does, which makes it the faster lever for an insurer trying to reduce statewide exposure.

What this means for a coastal, low risk property

| Statewide driver | What CDI confirms | Local relevance to El Segundo and Manhattan Beach |

|---|---|---|

| FAIR Plan growth | 20 percent policy growth statewide in 2023 (CDI, Dec 13, 2023) | Even low risk owners can be pushed toward FAIR Plan if a standard carrier exits their segment |

| Carrier market pullback | Insurers "pausing writing new policies or reducing market share" statewide (CDI, Jul 26, 2024) | Pullback decisions are often company wide or region wide, not peril score specific |

| Prior approval rate lag | Rate review "greatly affected by" Prop 103 (CDI rate filings page) | Slower rate approval pushes carriers toward non renewal as the faster exposure lever |

| 85 percent writing mandate | New regulation effective Dec 30, 2024 | Aimed at wildfire distressed areas specifically, so it does not directly guarantee relief in low risk coastal ZIP codes |

The last row is the important nuance. The 85 percent mandate targets wildfire distressed regions. El Segundo and Manhattan Beach are not that. So a landlord there is exposed to the same statewide carrier retreat that produced the crisis, without being the intended beneficiary of the specific fix aimed at wildfire areas.

What owners can do

Renew the shopping process earlier than you used to. A 60 to 90 day runway before expiration gives more room to find a carrier still writing in your segment. Ask any prospective carrier directly whether they are expanding, holding, or reducing California exposure this underwriting cycle, since that answer often predicts renewal risk better than your property's own loss history. Keep documentation of any wildfire mitigation, roof age, and claims history current, since it strengthens a submission even outside a wildfire zone. If a standard market policy is not available, the FAIR Plan's expanded commercial and dwelling limits are a real, if more expensive, fallback while the standard market stabilizes.

FAQ

Is El Segundo or Manhattan Beach actually high wildfire risk?

No. Both cities are coastal and flat with low wildfire exposure under standard risk models. The non renewal pressure landlords report there traces to statewide carrier exposure management, not a local peril reclassification.

Does CDI publish non renewal counts by ZIP code for these cities?

Not that this article could confirm. CDI's public materials report statewide figures, such as FAIR Plan growth and market pullback statements, and event specific protections tied to named wildfires. A ZIP level non renewal count for 90245 or 90266 was not located in CDI's public press materials as of this writing.

What is the Sustainable Insurance Strategy in one sentence?

It is Commissioner Lara's package of regulatory reforms, launched September 21, 2023, that lets insurers use catastrophe models and reinsurance costs in rate filings in exchange for a requirement to write at least 85 percent of their statewide market share in wildfire distressed areas.

Will the 85 percent writing requirement help a low risk coastal landlord?

Indirectly at best. The mandate specifically targets wildfire distressed regions. It may ease overall market pressure and FAIR Plan growth over time, but it does not obligate carriers to write more policies specifically in low risk coastal cities.

What is Proposition 103 and why does it matter here?

It is the ballot measure that put California property insurance rates under prior approval regulation, meaning insurers must get CDI sign off before changing rates. That review process moves slower than carriers' cost pressures, which is part of why non renewal, rather than a rate increase, has become the faster tool insurers reach for.

Should a landlord expect this to resolve soon?

CDI's own regulation phases in the 85 percent requirement gradually, stepping up 5 percent every two years, so the stated timeline for statewide stabilization runs across multiple years, not months.

This article summarizes publicly available California Department of Insurance actions and is general information, not insurance, legal, or financial advice. Confirm current market conditions and your specific renewal options with a licensed California insurance professional before making coverage decisions for your property.

Topics: compliance, landlord insurance, El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, California Department of Insurance, property management, South Bay

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Schofield Properties is a family run property management company at 323 Richmond St, El Segundo, CA 90245. We have managed the South Bay since 1972 and personally oversee about 186 doors today. Book a call to talk about your property.