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Can a Redondo Beach Rental Owner Cut FAIR Plan Wildfire Premiums With the New Hardening Discounts in 2026?

Published July 25, 2026

California's Safer from Wildfires framework now pays landlords to harden their buildings. Here is what qualifies for a discount and whether it reaches Redondo Beach rentals on the FAIR Plan.

If your Redondo Beach rental sits on the California FAIR Plan, you can now earn a discount on the wildfire portion of your premium by hardening the building. The state's Safer from Wildfires framework rewards specific steps like clearing the first five feet around the structure, adding ember resistant vents, and upgrading to a fire rated roof. Most Redondo rentals are not high fire risk, but canyon adjacent owners and anyone pushed onto the FAIR Plan should look at this.

What Safer from Wildfires actually is

The framework itself is not brand new. The California Department of Insurance issued the Safer from Wildfires regulation back in April 2023, requiring insurers to give discounts to residential and commercial policyholders who reduce their wildfire risk, and to hand you a wildfire risk score you can appeal. You can read the state's own Safer from Wildfires FAQ for the plain language version.

What is newer is the FAIR Plan applying these discounts to its own policies. According to a South Bay insurance broker's 2026 rate summary, the FAIR Plan's version of the discounts took effect on November 15, 2025, with reported savings of up to 16.4 percent off the wildfire portion of a residential bill and up to 13.8 percent for commercial. I want to be honest about the sourcing here. The state FAQ confirms the framework and the qualifying steps. The specific percentages and the November rollout date come from the broker's reporting, not from the state document, so treat them as the current word from the market rather than a fixed guarantee. Your own broker will tell you the exact number for your building.

The reason this matters for FAIR Plan owners in particular is that the FAIR Plan is where a lot of South Bay rentals end up after a private carrier declines to renew. It was built as the insurer of last resort, and its premiums climbed sharply this year. A discount on the wildfire piece is one of the few levers an owner actually controls.

The work that earns a discount

The state groups the qualifying actions into three levels, and the Department of Insurance FAQ lists them out. Many are low cost or do it yourself. Others make sense to fold into a roof or window replacement you were already planning.

At the structure level:

At the immediate surroundings level, within five feet of the building:

And on the property as a whole:

There is also a whole community level. If your neighbors form a Firewise USA community, or your city or district becomes a certified Fire Risk Reduction Community, that can add to what qualifies. The state's phrase for the whole thing is do more, save more. Every action counts, and stacking several of them is what moves the number.

The catch is proof. After you complete a step, you contact your insurer or broker and tell them the work is done. You may have to provide documentation, and an inspection may be required to confirm it. The savings then show up at the start of your next policy period, not the day you finish the work. So keep receipts, dated photos, and any contractor invoices.

What this means for your building

Here is the honest read for a Redondo Beach owner. The city proper is a coastal, built out beach town, and most rentals here are not sitting in a designated high fire severity zone. If your building is flat, surrounded by pavement, and blocks from the water, wildfire hardening is probably not your top insurance worry, and you may not even be on the FAIR Plan.

The owners this genuinely helps are two groups. First, anyone whose property runs up against the Palos Verdes hillsides or the canyon edges on the south and east sides of the area, where brush and slope raise the risk score. Second, and this is the larger group, any owner who got a non renewal from a private carrier and had to move to the FAIR Plan to stay covered. If you are paying the FAIR Plan's wildfire loaded premium, these discounts are aimed straight at you, regardless of whether your block feels like fire country.

If you are in either group, the move is simple. Pull your current declarations page, ask your broker which Safer from Wildfires discounts your policy already reflects, and get the list of what you have not claimed yet. Then sequence the cheap wins first. Clearing the five foot zone and trimming brush costs a weekend and qualifies on its own. Vents and shutters are a modest upgrade. The roof and windows are the big ticket items you time with a replacement cycle. You do not have to do all of it to save something, and the risk score you appeal down is the same score that keeps you insurable at all.

One thing I will not tell you is that your building is a liability. A well kept South Bay rental is an asset. This is about protecting that asset and trimming a cost you have some control over, not about anything being wrong with the property.

Common questions

I am not near the hills. Is there any point?

Maybe not for the fire risk itself, but check whether you are even on the FAIR Plan. If a private carrier renewed you normally, your wildfire exposure is likely already priced low and there is little to claim. If you were moved to the FAIR Plan, the discounts can still apply to your premium, so it is worth one call to your broker either way.

Do I get the money back right away?

No. Per the state FAQ, you complete the mitigation step, notify your insurer or broker, and provide proof or allow an inspection. The premium savings then take effect at the start of your next policy period. Keep dated documentation of every step so the claim is clean.

Are these discounts guaranteed at those percentages?

The framework and the qualifying steps are set by state regulation. The specific figures of up to 16.4 percent residential and 13.8 percent commercial, and the November 15, 2025 FAIR Plan effective date, come from a broker's 2026 summary rather than the state document itself. Your actual discount depends on your building's characteristics and how many steps you complete, so confirm the number with a licensed broker before you count on it.

Last verified: July 25, 2026. Discount percentages and the FAIR Plan effective date are drawn from a broker summary and may change; the Safer from Wildfires framework and qualifying measures are from the California Department of Insurance. This is general information for property owners, not legal advice. Confirm your coverage, eligibility, and exact discount with a licensed professional.

Kellie

Schofield Properties

323 Richmond Street, El Segundo, CA 90245

Topics: market, redondo-beach, south-bay, insurance, fair-plan

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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.