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The Safer from Wildfires insurance discount is California’s program that credits 10 home and yard upgrades and 2 community programs, one of which is using only noncombustible materials within 5 feet of the house, fences and gates included. For a fence, that means the part of every fence and gate inside 5 feet of the house has to be metal, masonry or another noncombustible material to earn the item. It rests on a Department of Insurance regulation, 10 CCR 2644.9, in force since October 14, 2022, which requires insurers that price for wildfire risk to reflect each measure in your rate.
This program already counts today, separately from the Board of Forestry’s Zone 0 rule. To claim it, finish a measure, tell your insurer or agent, and keep photos and invoices; the steps are below. How much each program pays is in the Zone Zero insurance discount guide.
What is the Safer from Wildfires program?
It is the California Department of Insurance’s (CDI) name for a set of measures at three levels: the structure, the immediate surroundings and the community. The legal part is one regulation, 10 CCR 2644.9, “Consideration of Mitigation Factors; Wildfire Risk Models.” It was filed and became operative on October 14, 2022, and insurers had 180 days to file rates that included the required measures (subdivision (d)(2)). A 2025 law, AB 1 (Connolly), chaptered October 9, 2025, requires CDI to consider adding more building hardening measures by January 1, 2030, and every five years after.
Which insurers does it apply to?
It covers any insurer whose rates vary “based upon a policyholder or applicant’s wildfire risk” (subdivision (a)(1)). An insurer that does not price for wildfire risk is outside it.
The regulation does not use the word “discount.” It says the rate offered “shall be based in part on” the reduced risk from “each and every” listed measure you have taken. CDI’s FAQ (September 2026) says the Commissioner “is requiring insurance companies to give discounts,” and “different insurance companies may offer different discounts, so it pays to compare.”
What are the Safer from Wildfires discount items?
The regulation lists the required measures in subdivision (d)(1). Grouped by type, with the regulation’s letters:
Immediate surroundings (the 5 foot zone and yard):
- a. Vegetation and debris cleared from under decks.
- b. Vegetation, debris, mulch, stored combustibles and “any and all movable combustible objects” cleared within 5 feet of the building.
- c. Only noncombustible materials in “that portion of any improvements to the property… including fences and gates, which is situated within five (5) feet” of the building.
- d. No combustible structures, sheds and outbuildings included, within 30 feet, or across as much of that area as you control.
- e. Compliance with PRC 4291 and any local defensible space ordinance.
Building hardening (the house itself):
- a. A Class A fire rated roof, as defined in California Building Code Chapter 7A, section 705A.1.
- b. Enclosed eaves.
- c. Fire-resistant vents as defined in CBC sections 706A.1 and 706A.2.
- d. Multipane windows or functional shutters that cover the whole window with no openings when closed.
- e. At least 6 inches of noncombustible vertical clearance at the bottom of the exterior wall, measured from the ground up.
Community:
- A Fire Risk Reduction Community listed by the Board of Forestry under PRC 4290.1.
- A Firewise USA site in good standing, as recognized by the National Fire Protection Association.
CDI’s consumer page condenses these into ten actions and says “every action under Safer from Wildfires will qualify you for an insurance discount.”
How does the regulation treat fences in the 5 foot zone?
The 5 foot zone item (item c under immediate surroundings above; (d)(1)(B)1.c in the regulation) is the one that touches fencing, and two parts of its wording decide how much fence is involved.
The item covers “that portion” of an improvement within 5 feet. A fence running away from the house needs only its first 5 feet in noncombustible material. A fence or gate that sits within 5 feet along its whole length, such as a side-yard run parallel to the wall, needs to be noncombustible for that whole length. The regulation gives no fence examples.
The 5 feet is measured from the “Building Being Evaluated,” which subdivision (b)(1) defines to include “decks that are attached to or abut the structure.” Under that definition, a wood fence that meets the outer edge of an attached deck sits inside the zone even if the deck puts it 12 feet from the house wall. The regulation does not say how inspectors apply this to fences, so ask your insurer how it measures before you set the length of a metal section.
CDI’s page gives the reason in one line: “Replacing wood fencing connecting to your home with metal is critical because it can act like a candle wick leading fire straight to your home.”
How is this different from the Board of Forestry’s Zone 0 rule?
On fences, the insurance item is broader. It has applied since 2022 and has no attachment test. The Board’s rule requires a 5 foot noncombustible span only on a fence or gate attached to the house or within 1 foot of it (14 CCR 1298.04(b)(9)(A); 1299.03(d)(9) in the SRA), and from its effective date bars new combustible fence within 5 feet. Existing wood fence elsewhere in the 5 foot band can stay. Three common layouts, read against both texts:
| Fence layout | Insurance item 1.c (in force since 2022) | Board Zone 0 rule (deadlines from its effective date) |
|---|---|---|
| Existing wood fence attached to the house wall | First 5 ft must be noncombustible to earn the item | 5 ft noncombustible span, within 3 to 5 years |
| Existing wood fence 3 ft from the wall, running parallel, not touching | Whole run inside 5 ft must be noncombustible to earn the item | May stay and be repaired in wood; a new one could not be wood |
| Wood fence starting 8 ft from the house, no deck | Outside the zone | Outside the zone |
Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara wrote to the Board on October 15, 2025 that the 2022 discounts “can help fund compliance” with Zone Zero. The fence specs under the Board’s rule are in Zone 0 fence requirements.
How much is the discount?
There is no single number. Each insurer files its own rating plan, and the regulation lets insurers also use optional factors such as fuel, slope, access, aspect and wind (subdivision (e)). Lara’s 2025 letter put the range at “4% to over 40% of the total premium, depending on the level of wildfire risk and specific home features.”
The California FAIR Plan publishes its schedule: up to 12 discounts worth up to 16.4% of the wildfire portion for Dwelling Fire policies, with its own fence item. Details are in FAIR Plan wildfire discounts. For private carriers, see wildfire mitigation discounts by insurer.
How do you document the work and claim it?
CDI’s September 2026 FAQ says to contact your insurer or agent after finishing a measure and “advise of the completed work.” You “may need to provide proof,” or an inspection may be required, and the savings “would be reflected at the start of the next policy period.”
For a fence or gate, a file that answers an inspector’s questions would hold:
- Before and after photos taken from the house wall outward, with a tape measure showing where the 5 foot line falls.
- The installer’s invoice naming the material (aluminum, steel, masonry) and the length replaced.
- Photos of any attached deck edge, since the regulation measures from it.
Firewise USA status is the insurer’s job to verify. CDI’s FAQ says NFPA sends boundary updates to insurance data providers and that policyholders “should not contact NFPA directly.”
What can you demand from your insurer?
If your insurer prices for wildfire risk, it must give you your wildfire risk score in writing, including within 30 days after you ask for a revised score because you finished a mitigation measure (subdivision (h)). Under subdivision (k) it must also list the measures that would lower the score and “the amount of premium reduction” each would produce under its current plan. Under subdivision (i) you can appeal the score; the insurer must acknowledge within 10 calendar days and decide within 30. If you are denied, CDI’s hotline is 800-927-4357.
What should you ask your insurer about the fence?
- How it measures the 5 foot zone around an attached deck.
- Whether a wood fence running parallel to the house inside 5 feet keeps you from earning the item.
- What the 5 foot noncombustible zone is worth on your policy, which the subdivision (k) disclosure should state.
Questions people ask
What is the California Safer from Wildfires program?
It is the Department of Insurance's wildfire discount framework, covering the structure, the immediate surroundings and the community. The rule behind it, 10 CCR 2644.9, has been in force since October 14, 2022 and requires insurers that price for wildfire risk to reflect 10 property-level measures and 2 community designations in their rates.
What are the Safer from Wildfires discounts?
10 CCR 2644.9(d)(1) lists ten property measures: clearing under decks, clearing the 5 foot zone, only noncombustible materials within 5 feet including fences and gates, no combustible structures within 30 feet, defensible space compliance, a Class A roof, enclosed eaves, fire-resistant vents, multipane windows or shutters, and 6 inches of noncombustible wall base. Two community designations also count. Each insurer sets its own amounts in a filed rating plan.
Does homeowners insurance require defensible space?
The Safer from Wildfires regulation, 10 CCR 2644.9, is a rating rule, not a coverage condition. It makes compliance with PRC 4291 and local defensible space ordinances one of the measures an insurer must reflect in the rate if it prices for wildfire risk. It does not address when an insurer may decline coverage, so ask your insurer about its underwriting rules.
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