FAIR Plans: insurance of last resort, explained
More than 30 states run one. If your insurance was canceled and a FAIR Plan is what you were offered instead, here's what you're actually buying.
By the TMRW Team · Published September 2, 2026
The short answer
- A FAIR Plan (Fair Access to Insurance Requirements) is a state-organized pool that sells basic property insurance to homeowners the regular market won't cover.
- It is usually not government-funded: the insurance companies in that state share the risk, and the coverage is narrower and pricier than a normal policy.
- FAIR Plans are designed as temporary bridges. The way back to the regular market is fixing whatever got you turned down — in wildfire states, that means documented fire-risk reduction.
How a FAIR Plan works
When enough insurance companies refuse a category of risk — wildfire-exposed homes in the West, hurricane-exposed coasts in the South and East — states organize a shared pool so those homes can still get basic coverage. Every company selling property insurance in the state is required to take part, sharing the pool's profits and losses.
The trade-offs are consistent everywhere: fewer kinds of damage covered (often fire or wind only), lower coverage caps, higher prices — and if the pool runs short of money, the fix is billing the state's insurance companies for more. There is no government guarantee behind it. Most FAIR Plan households also carry a second, gap-filling policy to restore the normal protections, at extra cost.
California: the biggest FAIR Plan, under the most strain
California's is the FAIR Plan most people are asking about. Its rolls have swelled with wildfire cancellations, the homes it covers are worth over $300 billion against a couple hundred million in cash on hand — and after the January 2025 fires, regulators had to order the state's insurance companies to chip in $1 billion so it could keep paying claims. We keep a full, sourced guide: the California FAIR Plan, explained, plus deep dives on what it costs, what it covers, and your alternatives.
State-by-state guides
| State | Plan | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | Texas FAIR Plan Association | What it covers and how to apply |
| Ohio | Ohio FAIR Plan Underwriting Association | What it covers and how to apply |
| Oregon | Oregon FAIR Plan Association | What it covers and how to apply |
| Washington | Washington FAIR Plan (Washington FAIR Plan Association) | What it covers and how to apply |
| Massachusetts | Massachusetts Property Insurance Underwriting Association (Massachusetts FAIR Plan) | What it covers and how to apply |
| Kansas | Kansas All-Industry Placement Facility (Kansas FAIR Plan) | What it covers and how to apply |
| New Mexico | New Mexico Property Insurance Program (NM FAIR Plan) | What it covers and how to apply |
| Minnesota | Minnesota FAIR Plan (Fair Access to Insurance Requirements) | What it covers and how to apply |
| Kentucky | Kentucky FAIR Plan Reinsurance Association | What it covers and how to apply |
| Pennsylvania | Insurance Placement Facility of Pennsylvania (the Pennsylvania FAIR Plan) | What it covers and how to apply |
Plus the deep California guide. Other states' FAIR and windstorm plans follow the same structure; guides are added as they're verified.
Common questions
TMRW is an independent wildfire-mitigation company. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the California FAIR Plan Association or any state FAIR Plan, wind pool, or insurance program.
Sources
- About the FAIR Plan (structure, no public funding) — California FAIR Plan Association, accessed 2026-09-02
- California FAIR Plan overview for consumers — California Department of Insurance, accessed 2026-09-02
- Order 2025-1: the $1B industry cash infusion after the January 2025 fires — California Department of Insurance, accessed 2026-09-02
Keep reading
The California FAIR Plan, explained
What the California FAIR Plan is, what it really costs with the second policy you'll need, what happens if it runs out of money — and how homeowners get back to real insurance.
What the California FAIR Plan really costs
What the California FAIR Plan actually costs in 2026 — by risk level, with the 29.1% October increase, and the second policy that turns a $5,000 premium into an $8,000 bill.
Alternatives to the California FAIR Plan
Four real alternatives to the California FAIR Plan — including the one that fixes the underlying problem: documented fire-risk reduction that brings regular insurers back.