Insurance carriers underwriting California multifamily are not the same business they were three years ago. The FAIR Plan reports total exposure of approximately $750 billion as of March 2026, up 242% since September 2022. Admitted carriers continue non-renewing properties they used to keep on the books for decades. Premiums on the policies that remain are climbing.
What that means for owners and property managers in Los Angeles is straightforward. Your next renewal will probably feel less like a paperwork exercise and more like an inspection. Underwriters are asking sharper questions, requesting more documentation, and pricing risk they used to absorb. The owner who walks into renewal with a clean condition file gives the broker and underwriter something to work with. The owner who cannot document condition is usually negotiating from a much weaker position.
What Changed in the Underwriting Posture
The carriers that are still writing California multifamily are doing so with shorter risk tolerance. Wildfire exposure across LA County, the 2025 fires, and the FAIR Plan’s growing dependence have pushed underwriting toward what insurance people call “loss prevention.” That means looking for the things on a building that are likely to produce a future claim, then either pricing for them, excluding them, or non-renewing.
The conditions getting attention right now:
- Roof age and condition, particularly anything past 20 years
- Electrical panels (Federal Pacific, Zinsco, Pushmatic) and obvious DIY wiring
- Plumbing systems with known failure histories such as galvanized or polybutylene
- Wood-supported balconies, decks, and exterior stairs (now SB-721 territory)
- Defensible space and vegetation in fire-zone properties
- Water intrusion history including staining, prior repairs, and mold remediation
- Habitability complaints, code violations, and REAP, SCEP, or RHHP records
- Open or expired permits visible in LADBS records
None of this is new on its own. What is new is that underwriters are checking it. Two years ago, an underwriter might have priced based on age, location, and occupancy. Now they are pulling permit history, looking at SB-721 status, and asking for photos.
Documentation as Leverage
Here is the underwriter’s problem in one sentence. They cannot see your building. They are pricing the risk of conditions they can’t verify. Anything that helps them verify, credibly, neutrally, with dates and photos, reduces their uncertainty, which can reduce the price they need to charge.
That is where a pre-renewal property condition audit pays for itself. A third-party inspector who walks the building, photographs the major systems, notes the condition, and produces a dated report gives the underwriter exactly what they need to underwrite at a more favorable premium or to stop a non-renewal in process.
What Underwriters Want to See
Roof age and condition with photos. Recent electrical panel inspection. Plumbing replacement history. SB-721 compliance status if the building has balconies. Defensible space documentation in fire zones. Maintenance and repair logs. The cleaner the file, the better positioned you are at renewal.
What a Renewal-Ready File Should Include
If you are putting together documentation to hand a broker or underwriter, here is the working list. Each item should have a date, a photo where possible, and a one-line note on condition or status.
- Dated exterior photos of each elevation
- Roof photos with estimated age and material
- Electrical panel photos with manufacturer and amperage
- Plumbing material notes and water heater age
- SB-721 / SB-326 inspection report if applicable, with status of any required repairs
- Defensible space photos where the property is in or near a fire-hazard zone
- Open permit and code case search results from LADBS and LAHD
- Recent maintenance invoices (12 months minimum)
- Corrective action plan for any unresolved items, with timelines
This is not the file every renewal needs. But it is the file that gives you the most leverage when the renewal goes hard.
What to Audit Before You Apply
The work to do, in priority order:
Roof. Walk it (or have someone walk it). Photograph the field, the flashings, the penetrations, and any prior repairs. Note the age and material. If it is past 20 years and showing wear, plan for replacement before the next renewal cycle, not after a non-renewal.
Electrical. Identify the panel type. If it is a recalled panel such as Federal Pacific Stab-Lok, Zinsco, or certain Pushmatic models, that is an underwriting problem regardless of how it tested. Document any recent service work, GFCI/AFCI updates, and panel labels.
Plumbing. Material type and age. Any recent leak history. Water heater age, location, and seismic strapping.
Exterior elevated elements. If you have wood-framed balconies, decks, walkways, or stairs and you have not done your SB-721 inspection, you are out of compliance and your insurance file is exposed. The deadline was January 1, 2026. Daily fines under California law range from $100 to $500. Source on the post-deadline penalty exposure here. Get the inspection done and have the report.
Defensible space. If your property is in or near a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, you need defensible space documentation. LA County’s 2026 inspection program has expanded coverage. Carriers will often ask. Photos and dates matter.
Habitability and code records. Pull your own SCEP and RHHP records. Pull your LADBS permit history. Open or expired permits, unresolved code complaints, REAP history, all of this is publicly accessible and underwriters look. If anything is in there that you didn’t know about, deal with it before they find it.
Recent maintenance and repair logs. A simple dated log of work done, with invoices, is one of the best things you can hand an underwriter. It shows ongoing attention. It tends to lower perceived risk.
If You’re Already Facing a Non-Renewal
A non-renewal notice is not always final. Carriers can rescind if conditions change. The window is short, but real.
The path that has worked for owners I have worked with: get a third-party inspection that documents condition, address the specific concerns the carrier flagged, produce a corrective action plan with timelines, and present the package to the underwriter or the broker before the policy lapses. This is not a guarantee. It is a substantially stronger position than asking for a reconsideration without documentation.
Bottom Line
The cost of insurance is becoming directly correlated to building condition in a way that has not been true in California for a long time. The carriers with capacity are pricing for what they can verify. Owners who can verify good condition tend to pay less. Owners who can’t tend to pay more or struggle to keep coverage.
The work to prepare is not exotic. It is the maintenance and documentation that should be happening anyway. The difference now is that doing it well is worth real money at renewal, and not doing it can cost you a policy.
If you would like a pre-renewal walkthrough that produces the kind of documentation underwriters respond to, that is exactly what we do. Better to know what your file looks like before the carrier sees it.