Insurance

The Safer from Wildfires twelve mitigation measures, explained

Fact-checked August 19, 2026·Sources at the end of this article

What 10 CCR §2644.9 is, and what it is not

10 CCR §2644.9 is a California Department of Insurance (CDI) regulation, filed and operative October 14, 2022. It incorporates the "Safer from Wildfires" framework, created in February 2022 by a partnership between CDI and the emergency preparedness agencies in Governor Newsom's administration. Subsection (d)(1) opens: "No insurer shall use a rating plan that does not take into account and reflect the following mandatory factors." And each measure must earn its own credit; CDI's insurer FAQ on the regulation (Rev. February 16, 2023) states:

An insurance company's rating plan must contain a separate, individual discount or credit for each mandatory mitigation factor identified in the regulation.

California Department of Insurance, FAQ: Mitigation in Rating Plans and Wildfire Risk Models Regulation

Keep the critical distinction in view: this is a rating regulation, not an underwriting mandate. It requires insurers to offer credits; it does not require any homeowner to complete any measure, and it does not authorize an insurer to demand that you do. It is also legally separate from defensible space law: the statewide Zone 0 rule that will bind property owners was approved by the Board of Forestry on August 19, 2026 and is not yet in effect, pending Office of Administrative Law review and publication by the Secretary of State. The insurance credits exist today either way.

The complete twelve-measure list

CDI's Mitigation in Rating Plans and Wildfire Risk Models Questionnaire (February 15, 2023 edition) enumerates the mandatory factors insurers must answer to in their rate filings: two community-level designations, then ten property-level mitigation efforts split into five "immediate surroundings" items and five "building hardening measures." The wording below is the questionnaire's.

Which measures are Zone 0 work, and which are structure hardening

The Zone-0-adjacent measures: 3, 4, and 5

Three of the twelve are, in substance, the same work the adopted statewide Zone 0 regulation describes, and CDI itself makes the connection, describing "a noncombustible five-foot buffer around a home – Zone 0" in a September 2023 press release.

Measure 4 is the clearing measure: vegetation, debris, mulch, stored combustible materials such as firewood, and movable combustible objects, all out of the first five feet. Measure 5 is the materials measure: only noncombustible materials in any improvement within five feet, "including fences and gates"; our California Zone 0 fencing guide covers it in depth. Measure 3, clearing under decks, is functionally the same ember-exposure work.

Because the insurance regulation is in force and the statewide Zone 0 regulation is adopted but not yet effective, the honest framing for this work is that it meets the §2644.9 noncombustible-materials measure today and meets what the adopted Zone 0 regulation requires, a duty that falls on no homeowner until that regulation takes effect. To walk your own first five feet against both lists, start with the Zone 0 checklist. And one absence worth knowing: gutter cleaning is not among the twelve.

The rest of the list

Measures 8 through 12 are structure hardening: roof, eaves, vents, windows, and the six inches of noncombustible clearance at the wall base. Vents sit in the hardening category even though they address the same ember pathway as the five-foot measures. Measures 6 and 7 reach beyond Zone 0: combustible sheds and outbuildings out to 30 feet, and defensible space compliance under Public Resources Code §4291. Measures 1 and 2 credit the community your home sits in, not your parcel.

What the credits are actually worth

CDI's September 2023 press release says that "Every action under Safer from Wildfires qualifies consumers for an insurance discount." True, but the sizes deserve honest numbers. Every figure below is a published carrier or researcher figure, not a promise of what you will save.

Resources for the Future (working paper WP 25-30) reviewed every California rate filing from January 2022 to June 2025 and found the average maximum property-level discount was about 5.65%, roughly $98 per year, with property plus community credits averaging around 13%. The fencing line item alone is typically worth 0.5%–1.2% at most carriers. CDI has cited a "4%–40%" range without publishing its methodology; do not plan around it.

The high outliers, Mercury and AAA/CSAA, publish their own figures: Mercury lists tiered wildfire mitigation discounts of 12.5%–45% on the wildfire portion of premium; AAA/CSAA lists up to 32% across all measures, with the noncombustible fence/gate line item at 1.0% off the wildfire portion for HO-3 policies effective August 1, 2026 or later. The California FAIR Plan separately offers a wildfire hardening discount (effective November 15, 2025) of up to 16.4% off the wildfire portion of a Dwelling Fire policy. Note the recurring phrase: these mostly apply to the wildfire portion of the premium, not the whole bill. Carrier-by-carrier detail is in our guide to fence insurance discounts in California.

The community measures can apply with no work on your part: CDI's insurer FAQ confirms that because the Board of Forestry's 2022 Fire Risk Reduction Community list includes the entirety of Los Angeles County, any risk located there should be eligible for some type of discount.

How to claim the credits

There is a practical reason the burden of proof lands on you: the aerial risk models many carriers use commonly resolve at about 30 meters: they cannot see a fence. Documentation is how the improvement gets counted.

1. Document the work. Dated photos of each completed measure, plus receipts or contractor invoices that name the materials. For the five-foot measures, photograph the full span where the improvement meets the house. Our compliance documentation guide covers what a carrier's reviewer needs to see.
2. Ask your agent or carrier for its mitigation certification form. On carrier Certification of Mitigation Criteria forms, the noncombustible-fencing measure is the first of the twelve; expect to attest measure by measure.
3. Submit and keep copies. Each factor carries its own separate credit, so claim every measure you can substantiate.
4. Confirm the credit was recorded. Check your next declarations page or ask your agent which credits are applied. A discount never entered saves nothing.

Where the IBHS designation fits

The IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home designation is often mentioned in the same breath as Safer from Wildfires, but it is not one of the twelve. It is a voluntary standard, launched June 22, 2022 in California as the first-ever wildfire mitigation designation program, covering the roof, specific building features, and defensible space including the 0–5 foot home ignition zone. IBHS developed it with CDI at the table, yet the designation is named nowhere in §2644.9, the CDI questionnaire, or CDI's FAQs; we verified the absence.

Some carriers price the designation as well. Mercury publishes 22.5%–37.5% for the IBHS designation and 30%–50% for the Plus tier within its wildfire mitigation discount program. AAA/CSAA states that with IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home certification, "your single-family homeowners policy won't be non-renewed due to wildfire risk and we will renew your homeowners policy for a minimum of three years if you maintain the certification and all other requirements of your policy." That is a carrier commitment. Researchers Kousky and You, reviewing filed underwriting criteria, report their reading that Farmers currently insures homes in high-fire-risk areas only if they hold the IBHS WPH+ designation. The designation carries its own fencing requirements; see our IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home fencing guide.

What this means for you

• Nothing on this list is required of you. The regulation obligates your insurer's rating plan, not your weekend.
• The credits exist now, independent of the statewide Zone 0 regulation the Board of Forestry approved on August 19, 2026. The insurance regulation has been in force since October 14, 2022.
• Each measure earns its own separate credit, so partial progress still counts. You do not need all twelve to claim any one of them.
• Set expectations with the published averages: about 5.65% maximum property-level per the RFF filing review. No figure here is a promise.
• If you do one five-foot project, know that the fencing measure is first on the carrier forms, and the same work meets the fence requirement in the statewide Zone 0 regulation adopted on August 19, 2026, which is not yet in effect. Document it before, during, and after.
• Completing measures does not guarantee coverage or renewal. Mitigation affects eligibility at some carriers, but the Board of Forestry itself has said Zone 0 compliance "won't guarantee insurance."