District of Columbia FAIR Plan: what it covers, what it costs, who qualifies

Does District of Columbia have a FAIR Plan?

Yes. The District of Columbia Property Insurance Facility (DCPIF) is the city's FAIR Plan, an unincorporated association of every insurer licensed to write essential property coverage in D.C., established under D.C. Code §§ 31-5001 et seq. (District of Columbia Property Insurance Facility). It writes basic property policies for homes admitted carriers won't take.

DCPIF is not a government agency. The D.C. Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking oversees it under DCMR Title 26, Chapter 13. It runs two programs: a Dwelling Fire line on the ISO DP 00 01 basic form, and Homeowner coverage on the HO 00 series.

It's small. The Insurance Information Institute's FY2024 reporting shows roughly 116 habitational policies in force across the District. Day-to-day administration is handled by the Maryland Joint Insurance Association in Ellicott City under a 1983 Management Services Agreement, which is why the primary number, (202) 393-4640, sits alongside the 1-800-492-5670 line shared with the Maryland JIA. The eligibility rules, perils, dwelling limits, and application steps are below; for a primer on the program type itself, see what a FAIR Plan is.

What does it cover?

The DCPIF is a named-peril plan, not an HO-3. It writes two product lines: a dwelling-fire policy on ISO form DP 00 01 (the basic form) and the homeowner forms HO 00 02 (broad-form dwelling), HO 00 04 (tenants), HO 00 06 (condo owners), and HO 00 08 (modified coverage). Commercial risks use ISO CP 00 99. Dwelling and commercial risks cannot ride on the same policy, and every property is inspected before it is bound (District of Columbia Property Insurance Facility: Consumer Information Sheet, rev. 09-2022).

Covered perils on the dwelling-fire and commercial forms are fire and lightning; the extended-coverage perils (windstorm, hail, explosion, riot or civil commotion, aircraft, vehicles, smoke); and vandalism and malicious mischief, which drops off if the property is vacant or unoccupied. The HO forms layer on the broad-form perils; HO 00 08 is the limited-peril modified form for older homes whose replacement cost runs well above market value. A useful frame for the difference between this and a standard policy is the named-peril vs open-peril distinction.

What it does not cover is as load-bearing as what it does. The facility does not write flood, does not pick up perils outside the offered forms, and does not pay indirect loss. The dwelling-fire form carries no personal liability, so a stand-alone liability policy from the voluntary market is the usual add-on; the HO forms include liability but are capped at the plan's coverage limits (covered in the dwelling-cap section below). Theft on the dwelling-fire form and most water-damage scenarios sit outside the named perils as well.

How much will it cover?

The DCPIF homeowner form caps dwelling coverage (Coverage A) at $614,000 and contents (Coverage C) at $307,000. The separate dwelling-fire and commercial forms cap total coverage at $1,500,000, whether the home is fire-resistive, masonry, or frame (District of Columbia Property Insurance Facility Consumer Information Sheet, rev. September 2022, verified May 2026).

For most rowhouses inside the District those caps clear the rebuild cost. For a larger single-family or a renovated home, $614,000 may fall short. The figure to compare against is replacement cost, not market value or the assessor's number; the two often diverge sharply in DC (see replacement cost vs. actual cash value).

The Facility writes only the forms it lists. There are no scheduled-property endorsements for jewelry, fine art, or collectibles, and no way to buy above the published caps inside the plan. A home that needs more dwelling coverage, or coverage for items the form leaves out, generally pairs the DCPIF policy with a difference-in-conditions wrap from the excess and surplus market, written through a broker. The plan's caps are set by the Facility and can be revised; the figures above are from the latest Consumer Information Sheet on the DCPIF site.

Who is eligible?

Eligibility for the District of Columbia Property Insurance Facility (DCPIF) rests on two tests: an insurable interest in a D.C. property, and an inability to obtain coverage in the voluntary market. There is no fixed numeric "declined by N carriers" rule published in the consumer materials (District of Columbia Property Insurance Facility, Consumer Information Sheet rev. 09-2022, verified May 2026). If admitted carriers have non-renewed or refused to quote, that establishes the inability-to-obtain test in practice.

The Facility writes both individuals and businesses, which means owner-occupied homes, rentals, and investor-owned properties can apply, subject to underwriting. Every property is inspected. The inspection can result in condition charges added to the premium, specific exclusions written into the policy, or, in some cases, a cancellation of the immediate binder if the dwelling fails the Facility's condition standards.

To apply, a completed application is submitted with a copy of the cancellation or non-renewal notice from the present carrier and the required photographs. For HO-2 and HO-8 forms, that means front-and-rear photos of the dwelling plus photos of any outbuildings. A licensed D.C. property-casualty agent or broker handles the submission; the Facility doesn't sell direct to consumers. Prior claims and open condition issues (roof, electrical, vacancy) are the most common reasons an application stalls or comes back with a surcharge, so it's worth raising them with the agent before paperwork goes in.

How do you apply?

You apply through a licensed District of Columbia insurance producer (an agent or broker); the DCPIF does not sell directly to consumers. Applications come from the Facility's website or from the Facility itself at 1-800-492-5670 (fax 410-244-7268) (District of Columbia Property Insurance Facility, verified May 2026).

If your prior carrier's cancellation date is close and you need coverage in force before the Facility issues its acceptance or declination, ask the producer about an Immediate Binder. The binder request needs four things: the completed application, the estimated premium, the prior carrier's cancellation or non-renewal notice, and, if you're applying for one of the homeowner forms (HO-2 or HO-8), photos of the dwelling. A binder is temporary proof of coverage that bridges the gap until the policy itself issues (see: what an insurance binder is).

The Facility's producer-information page sits at dcpif.org/producer-information; any DC-licensed producer can submit on a homeowner's behalf, so the practical first step is asking the agent who wrote the prior policy whether they place DCPIF business or can refer one who does.

How much does it cost?

The District of Columbia Property Insurance Facility doesn't publish a premium comparison against the standard market, and no recent rate-filing percentage is on the public record. What is on the record: the plan is positioned as a last resort, used mainly for older urban housing stock the voluntary market won't write, and it carries narrower coverage with known caps (District of Columbia Property Insurance Facility, verified May 2026).

Two specifics shape what a DCPIF policy actually costs to put on the home. The dwelling-fire form, written on ISO DP 00 01, is named-peril and carries no liability; a household that needs liability buys it separately. HO forms are broader but cap Coverage A (the dwelling itself) at $614,000. A home with a rebuild cost above that gets covered up to the cap, and the rest sits uninsured unless a wrap fills it in.

Inspection condition charges are the other line that bumps the premium. The DCPIF inspects each risk; older roofs, outdated wiring, deferred maintenance, and the urban row-house realities the plan was built for can all add a surcharge. Because the plan doesn't publish a schedule of these charges, the figure on a quote is the plan's own underwriting call against the inspection.

The figure most homeowners actually want, what a comparable HO-3 would have cost in the voluntary market versus what the DCPIF charges for the same home, isn't published. No public dataset benchmarks the plan against the standard market, and no recent DCPIF rate-filing percentage is on the record. If the renewal-notice premium spike was the trigger here, the premium-spike playbook covers what to ask the carrier before going to the DCPIF.

What is changing right now?

Not much, on the public record. The District of Columbia Property Insurance Facility (DCPIF) remains one of the smallest residual property pools in the country, and no major rate or rule change is confirmed for 2025 or 2026. Industry reporting puts the Facility at roughly 116 habitational policies, 18 commercial policies, and about $71 million in total exposure as of fiscal-year 2024 (Insurance Information Institute, FY2024 reporting).

For context, that habitational count has held essentially flat. The District's voluntary homeowners market is stable, and the Facility exists mainly as a backstop for older urban housing stock that admitted carriers will not take. There is no depopulation or takeout program to track, no recent member-insurer assessment on the public record, and no analog to the post-disaster non-renewal moratoria that drive headlines in California (Ins. Code §675.1 / SB 824) or the windstorm-pool reform churn in the Gulf states.

The current source of truth is the "District of Columbia Property Insurance Facility" report (filename: dcpif_report_final_adopted.pdf) that the Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB) periodically adopts; pull the latest copy from the Facility's site for the live policy count, exposure total, and Plan of Operation language before quoting figures to a client. Commissioner Karima M. Woods has led DISB since the DC Council's July 28, 2020 confirmation, and her office signs the Facility-related adoption orders.

Any future material change, whether a rate request, a Plan of Operation amendment, or a member-insurer assessment, will move through DISB rulemaking and surface on the DCPIF site first. New filings are logged in the changelog as they appear.

Do you also need a wrap (DIC) policy?

Probably yes, if the lender is going to look at the policy. A wrap, short for difference-in-conditions, is a second policy that fills the holes the FAIR-style policy leaves. In D.C. there is no formal DIC product sold under that label; brokers build the same effect from two off-the-shelf pieces.

The shape of the gap depends on which DCPIF form you're on. The dwelling-fire form (DP 00 01) is named-peril and carries no personal liability, so a buyer almost always pairs it with a stand-alone liability policy. The homeowner forms are broader but cap Coverage A at $614,000, with personal liability also limited (District of Columbia Property Insurance Facility, verified May 2026). If the home's replacement cost is above that cap, the gap above is what the wrap covers; if it sits below, the question is liability, theft, and water-damage coverage.

The DCPIF itself sells a few optional endorsements that close part of the gap: Additional Insured (Residence Premises), three- or four-family dwelling coverage, and water-backup-from-sewer-or-drains. They don't replace a wrap; they trim the list of things still needed outside.

For a deal closing on a clock, the fastest route is the broker who placed the DCPIF policy: they typically write the liability piece on the same paperwork. The mechanics of a wrap are the same as in any state (see: difference-in-conditions); only the parts list changes.

Alternatives to the FAIR Plan in District of Columbia

Before going to the District of Columbia Property Insurance Facility, the right first move is usually the admitted market. An independent agent in DC can run quotes from several insurers licensed by the District at once. Because DC is a dense urban market without coastal-wind or wildfire exposure, the standard carriers (and several smaller specialty admitted insurers writing rowhouses, older masonry, and historic-district properties) still take homes other markets in higher-risk states would decline. Two or three declinations from those carriers are what tell you the voluntary market is genuinely closed for your address.

If admitted carriers all decline, the next stop is the excess and surplus (E&S) market: non-admitted insurers that can underwrite homes the admitted carriers won't, often at a higher premium and with fewer state-backed consumer protections (see: admitted vs. surplus lines). An E&S policy is typically broader than a Property Insurance Facility policy, which is named-peril and excludes liability, theft, and water damage. For a home over a Facility coverage cap, or one that needs liability and theft back, the practical answer is often an E&S homeowners policy, or a Facility policy paired with a difference-in-conditions (DIC) wrap covering what the Facility leaves out.

What to do this week if you just got a non-renewal notice

A non-renewal notice in the District is jarring, especially after years with no claims. Here is the order of operations that gets most homeowners back to bound coverage fastest. None of this requires panic, and most of it can be done on a single weekday afternoon.

1. Read the notice for the effective date and the stated reason. The effective date is the day your current policy ends, and everything else on this list is paced against it. The reason (loss history, roof age, proximity to a wildland edge in Rock Creek, prior water claim) tells you which carriers are still worth approaching and which will decline on the same grounds.
2. Pull your CLUE report before you start shopping. CLUE is the prior-claims database carriers query when they quote you; ordering your own free copy through LexisNexis lets you see what they will see, and dispute anything wrong before it costs you a quote.
3. Get quotes from at least three admitted carriers, ideally through one independent agent who can run several at once. Admitted carriers are licensed and regulated by the District; their rates and policy forms are filed with the DC Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking. If all three decline, you have the documented diligent search the FAIR Plan route assumes.
4. Apply to the District of Columbia Property Insurance Facility through a licensed producer. The plan does not sell direct, and the producer files the application; turnaround is typically faster than the voluntary market because underwriting is narrower.
5. Plan the wrap alongside the FAIR Plan application, not after. A standalone FAIR Plan policy leaves out liability, theft, and water damage, so the wrap (difference-in-conditions) is the other half of the coverage, not an upsell.

For the full walkthrough, including how to handle the mortgage-servicer paperwork and what to do if a binder gap looks likely, see /got-a-non-renewal-notice/.