Utah FAIR Plan: there isn't one, and what to do instead

Does Utah have a FAIR Plan?

No. Utah does not operate a FAIR Plan or any state-run insurer of last resort. If every admitted carrier in Utah has turned you down, the route is the surplus-lines (E&S) market: a licensed surplus-lines broker places the policy with a non-admitted carrier. Expect a higher premium and no state guaranty-fund backstop if the carrier later fails.

What is changing right now?

2025: HB 48 (Wildland Urban Interface Modifications) passes the 2025 General Session, signed by Governor Cox. June 18, 2025: UID presents Insurance Market Update to the Utah Business and Labor Interim Committee (non-renewal rate 0.28 percent in 2022 to 0.87 percent in 2024; carrier count 137 in 2023 to 131 in 2024; named rate-filing approvals). 2025 wildfire season: approximately 165,000 acres burned, most since 2020. December 18, 2025: Utah DNR FFSL releases official High-Risk WUI Map. January 1, 2026: HB 48 High-Risk WUI Map effective; insurers must use it. January 1, 2026: Commissioner Jon Pike assumes NAIC Vice President role. February 13, 2026: HB 562 introduced (would have created Access to Insurance Plan Association as Utah FAIR Plan). March 6, 2026: House strikes HB 562 enacting clause, killing the bill for the 2026 session.

How Utah handles hard-to-insure homes

Surplus lines (non-admitted / E&S) market; no FAIR Plan, no JUA, no state-backed insurer of last resort. UT is not a PIPSO member. HB 562 (2026), which would have established a residual-market plan, was killed in the House (enacting clause struck March 6, 2026). (Source: Utah Code 31A-15-103 (Surplus Lines Insurance, Unauthorized Insurers), verified 2026-05-14.)

Surplus lines is the de-facto coverage-of-last-resort path in Utah for homeowners that admitted carriers decline. The Surplus Line Association of Utah (SLAUT) acts as the stamping office for the Utah Insurance Commissioner. Nonadmitted insurers must meet a $15 million capital-and-surplus minimum (or Chapter 17 Part 6 RBC) under 31A-15-103; transactions are taxed at 4.25 percent of gross premiums under 31A-3-301. The non-traditional E&S homeowners line grew 24.8 percent year-over-year nationally in the first half of 2025 per WSIA, the fastest-growing surplus-lines segment. (Source: Utah Code 31A-15-103 / Surplus Line Association of Utah / WSIA 2025 H1 report, verified 2026-05-14.)

Utah non-renewal rate

Utah homeowners non-renewal rate rose from 0.28 percent in 2022 to 0.87 percent in 2024 per UID's own data presented to the Utah Business and Labor Interim Committee in June 2025. The 2024 figure is roughly triple the 2022 rate but still well below the most-stressed states (FL approximately 2.99 percent, CA approximately 1.72 percent in the U.S. Senate Budget Committee 2024 data call). The directional trend is the story. (Source: Utah Insurance Department, Insurance Market Update (June 18, 2025), verified 2026-05-14.)

How Utah regulates the homeowners market

Utah Insurance Department (UID) (Source: Utah Insurance Department, Contact Us, verified 2026-05-14.)

Utah is a file-and-use state for personal-lines property and casualty rate filings under Utah Code Title 31A Chapter 19a. Carriers file rates with UID and may use them after filing; the Commissioner may disapprove a filing post-use as excessive, inadequate, or unfairly discriminatory. (Source: Utah Insurance Department, Rates and Forms, verified 2026-05-14.)

Utah requires at least 30 days' written notice of non-renewal of a homeowners policy delivered or sent by first-class mail under Utah Code 31A-21-303. Renewal-premium notice must arrive not more than 45 nor less than 14 days before the due date. If the insurer renews on less favorable terms or at a higher rate, the new terms must be sent at least 30 days before the prior policy expires. Notice of extinguishment of the right to renew for nonpayment must arrive 15 to 45 days before the renewal payment is due. (Source: Utah Code 31A-21-303 (Cancellation, Issuance, and Renewal), verified 2026-05-14.)

Post-disaster protections and mitigation credits

Utah does not have a standing post-disaster non-renewal moratorium analogous to California's Cal. Ins. Code 675.1. HB 48 (2025) does not create a moratorium either; it creates a transparency overlay (owner-request rationale disclosure when premium rises greater than 20 percent or coverage is discontinued for wildfire reasons) and a state-defined High-Risk WUI Map that insurers must use. The Commissioner may issue bulletins after a declared disaster but lacks emergency moratorium authority to suspend non-renewals across affected ZIP codes by order. (Source: Utah Legislature, HB 48 (2025) / Utah Code 31A-21-303, verified 2026-05-14.)

Utah has no statewide statutory mandate that admitted carriers credit defensible space, Class-A roofing, or whole-home hardening on homeowners policies. HB 48 (2025) instead created a wildfire-disclosure regime: insurers must use the state High-Risk WUI Map (effective January 1, 2026) when assessing wildfire risk, and on property-owner request must disclose the rationale for any premium increase greater than 20 percent or any wildfire-related coverage discontinuance. The state Wildfire Preparedness Program (funded by the new $20 to $100 per-structure annual fee on high-risk WUI properties) underwrites community mitigation work rather than carrier rate credits. (Source: Utah Legislature, HB 48 (2025 General Session) Wildland Urban Interface Modifications, verified 2026-05-14.)

Recent Utah home-insurance changes

2025: HB 48 (Wildland Urban Interface Modifications) passes the 2025 General Session, signed by Governor Cox. June 18, 2025: UID presents Insurance Market Update to the Utah Business and Labor Interim Committee (non-renewal rate 0.28 percent in 2022 to 0.87 percent in 2024; carrier count 137 in 2023 to 131 in 2024; named rate-filing approvals). 2025 wildfire season: approximately 165,000 acres burned, most since 2020. December 18, 2025: Utah DNR FFSL releases official High-Risk WUI Map. January 1, 2026: HB 48 High-Risk WUI Map effective; insurers must use it. January 1, 2026: Commissioner Jon Pike assumes NAIC Vice President role. February 13, 2026: HB 562 introduced (would have created Access to Insurance Plan Association as Utah FAIR Plan). March 6, 2026: House strikes HB 562 enacting clause, killing the bill for the 2026 session. (Source: Utah Legislature, HB 562 (2026) / HB 48 (2025) / UID June 2025 market update, verified 2026-05-14.)

Your protections if you're declined in Utah

If admitted carriers decline you in Utah, your options are: (1) shop with an independent agent because roughly 131 homeowners writers reported Utah premium in 2024 and the admitted market remains competitive by national standards; (2) work with a Utah-licensed surplus-lines producer to place coverage with a non-admitted (E and S) insurer overseen by SLAUT and the UID, recognizing that surplus-lines policies are not backed by the Utah Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Association (Title 31A Chapter 28); (3) if your premium just rose more than 20 percent or coverage was discontinued for wildfire reasons, request the insurer's written rationale under HB 48 (2025); (4) file a complaint with UID Property and Casualty Consumer Service at (801) 957-9305 or prop.cas@utah.gov, or via the complaint portal at https://insurance.utah.gov/complaints/ if you believe a cancellation or non-renewal violated 31A-21-303 notice rules. (Source: Utah Insurance Department, Homeowner's Insurance consumer page, verified 2026-05-14.)

Utah Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Association (UPCIGA) covers claims against insolvent admitted property and casualty carriers under Utah Code Title 31A Chapter 28. Created in 1971. Does not cover surplus-lines / non-admitted carriers. (Source: Utah Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Association, verified 2026-05-14.)

How we compile and verify every fact on this page →

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

1. Read the notice fully. Note the cancellation date: that is your runway.
2. Call your current agent and ask why. Some non-renewals are reversible (a minor issue, a missed inspection); most aren't.
3. Get quotes from at least three other admitted carriers before reaching the surplus-lines market. If you're rural / WUI / coastal you may strike out; that's normal.
4. If admitted carriers decline, contact a licensed surplus-lines (E&S) broker in Utah. They can submit on your behalf the same week.
5. Don't let coverage lapse. A lapse triggers force-placed insurance from your lender: much more expensive, and worse coverage.

For the full playbook see I just got a non-renewal notice →