If Liberty Mutual or Safeco Insures Your California Condo or Rental, Your Renewal Is Not Coming.

If your condo insurance or renters insurance in California is written by Liberty Mutual or Safeco, do not wait for your next bill. The company is dropping every one of these policies in the state, and the non-renewal letters started going out at the top of the year. Roughly 170,000 California households have to find new coverage before their current policy runs out.

What Liberty Mutual actually did

Liberty Mutual, the fourth-largest home insurer in California with about 6.75% of the market, told the state’s Department of Insurance in December 2024 that it was walking away from two full product lines: condo policies and renters policies, under both the Liberty Mutual and Safeco brands (San Francisco Chronicle). Its own filings put the count at 67,500 condos and 102,200 rental properties. That is the whole book.

The wind-down started at the top of the year. As of January 1, 2026, Liberty and Safeco are neither writing new California condo or renters business nor renewing what they have (Insurance Journal). Individual policies expire at their normal 12-month anniversary. A policy that renewed on April 3, 2025 lapses April 3, 2026. Everyone gets there sooner or later.

The company’s stated reason is that “many of these lines have underperformed over the past decade.” Homeowners insurance stays. Condo and renters do not.

What they’re not telling you

California law gives you 75 days of written notice before a non-renewal takes effect (United Policyholders). Every one of those 170,000 households gets a letter with the exact date. Do not wait for that letter to start shopping. The California FAIR Plan, the state’s insurer of last resort, is designed for wildfire fire coverage. It typically prices a condo unit in the $1,500 to $4,000 a year range, and it does not carry liability, water damage, or theft (California Department of Insurance). The FAIR Plan is the fallback, not the first stop.

Real money. A standard admitted condo policy for a typical California unit costs a fraction of that FAIR Plan price, and covers everything the FAIR Plan does not. FAIR Plan plus a Difference in Conditions wrap for the same unit adds up to several times an admitted policy for weaker coverage.

The move

Here’s what to do the day your notice arrives, not the day your policy ends.

Call an independent agent, not the one who sold you the Liberty or Safeco policy. Independent agents quote several admitted carriers in one call. Farmers reopened new California condo and renters policies in December 2024 and is one of the doors back open. Ask for three quotes on your current dwelling and personal-property limits.

Do not let coverage lapse for a single day. If you have a mortgage, your lender will force-place coverage on you at two to three times the cost with worse protection. If you rent, the state does not require a policy, but a $15-a-month admitted renters policy covers your stuff at replacement cost and your neighbor’s water damage if your dishwasher backs up.

If nothing lands in the admitted market, the FAIR Plan (cfpnet.com, 800-339-4099) is the backup, paired with a DIC wrap for liability and water. Not first.

United Policyholders (uphelp.org) is the nonprofit consumer resource with California-specific shopping help and a checklist worth an hour of your time before you sign anything new. See our mortgages hub for related coverage on the current insurance market.

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