It depends entirely upon the location. California is a very large state, and not all areas have fires or slides. Like thinking that all of Texas is in danger of flooding after Houston gets hit with a hurricane.

Not sure if it's higher in CA than other places. But I did think about the insurance companies with all the flooding, wind damage and now fires in CA. I would think some insurance companies would be involved in all the incidents. It's a lot at once.

I cannot compare rates because there are too many variables. However, it is almost impossible for me to get fire insurance for my house because I live in a designated high fire danger area. After this latest set of wildfires, I’m wondering if my current company will drop me (and other properties like mine).

Does "almost impossible" mean you want it and can't get it?

My hillside neighborhood is very near an undeveloped area with trees and other dry vegetation that would burn quickly. I've never heard a peep from an insurance company about either being a problem. I changed companies, then changed back a year later, about 5 years ago.

I think the biggest cost factor for home insurance besides the obvious is that construction costs are expensive in much of the state. Depending on the nature of the home and its locale, insurance for replacement value can easily consider such costs to be in the range of $400-$600 per square foot. For some houses, I imagine it could be higher.

Having said all that, I don't think my house insurance is that expensive. For a larger than average-sized house, it's about the same as car insurance for two newish nice cars.

I am unable to get fire insurance at the cabin, (Northern CA).

The manager at a local coffee shop was unable to get fire insurance on her cabin, burned to the ground 4-5 years ago, Manton, CA. A neighbor has a cabin in the Mt Shasta/Weed area, he is not able to get fire insurance.

I live in Silicon Valley, the value of my home is ~$300k, the value of my lot is ~$500k. My father's home on the peninsula, $350k home, $900k land.

Elmer, companies like Farmers and Chubb will not insure my house because of fire danger. I finally was able to get coverage through USAA, but it’s not a premium policy. If you have another company offering premium policies that you can recommend, I would appreciate the recommendation. Perhaps your house is not in a high risk area according to Cal-Fire?

We have a full replacement value policy on our house which includes full replacement value on the building and all the contents. We get a discount because there is a fire hydrant within 60 feet of our property and because we have a new roof (Gerard Stone Coated Steel). There is a year-round creek behind our property from which the fire department can get water, and we also have an in-ground pool in the backyard from which water can be taken.

Last night on the local CBS news, they gave some tips for what to do if you have enough warning before having to evacuate because of a fire. The tips included:

• Turn off the gas and all pilot lights
• Connect all of your hoses and leave them within easy reach of firefighters and volunteers
• Fill every bucket you have with water and leave them outside within easy reach of firefighters/volunteers
• Remove all flammable window coverings
• Move as much furniture as possible away from exterior walls and either put it in the center of the room or, if possible, in another interior room that doesn't have exterior walls

CA Insurance Companies can be strange about pricing and where they want to cover homes. Twenty years ago, I asked the agent that handled our car insurance to give us some quotes for renter's insurance. I thought the results were out-of-line expensive and even asked her to double check the amounts and to confirm it was for renters.

Ten years later we bought a larger, higher value home nine miles from that rental and in a similar risk neighborhood, and the quote for homeowners insurance covering the entire house and contents with full replacement value was equal to the lowest-deductible quote for the renter's insurance--it was from the same insurance company! Still does not make sense to me.

After all the hurricanes, floods & fires this year, I think everyone's HO insurance will be going up to some extent.