Insurance section · Resources
California insurance resources
The official places to check a license, file a complaint, learn how coverage works and find programs for hard-to-insure homes and drivers. Each link was checked on October 25, 2026, and opens in a new tab.
Help, complaints and license lookup
- California Department of Insurance: getting help (opens in a new tab)
Consumer Hotline 800-927-4357 (TTY 800-482-4833) and how the Department can help with a problem.
- Help from the Department in Spanish (opens in a new tab)
The Department's help page in Spanish.
- Consumer Complaint Center (opens in a new tab)
File or track a complaint about an insurance company or agent online, in English or Spanish.
- Check a license (opens in a new tab)
How to look up an agent or broker. The lookup tool itself is at cdicloud.insurance.ca.gov/cal.
- Home Insurance Finder (opens in a new tab)
Find insurance companies and their agents that write home insurance in your ZIP code.
Home, renters and condo
- Residential Property Insurance guide (opens in a new tab)
The Department's plain guide to homeowners, condo and renters policies.
- Residential property claims guides (opens in a new tab)
How to handle a home insurance claim, step by step.
- Spanish Insurance Essentials (opens in a new tab)
Twelve guides in Spanish on auto, home, renters, earthquake, flood and business insurance.
- Safer from Wildfires (opens in a new tab)
Home and community steps that California insurance companies must recognize with discounts.
- CAL FIRE: defensible space (opens in a new tab)
The zones around a home and what to clear in each.
- Ready for Wildfire: defensible space (opens in a new tab)
Practical checklists for the zones closest to the house.
If you can't find home insurance
- The California FAIR Plan (Department of Insurance) (opens in a new tab)
What the FAIR Plan is, what it covers and who it is for.
- California FAIR Plan (opens in a new tab)
The FAIR Plan's own site: policies, payments and claims.
- Companies that offer Difference in Conditions (DIC) policies (opens in a new tab)
Insurance companies that sell a DIC policy to pair with the FAIR Plan.
Earthquake and flood
- California Earthquake Authority (opens in a new tab)
Earthquake policies for homeowners, condo owners and renters, sold through participating insurance companies.
- Flood insurance resources (opens in a new tab)
Why home policies exclude flood, and how the national flood program works.
- FloodSmart: buy a flood policy (opens in a new tab)
The National Flood Insurance Program's limits and waiting period. Spanish at floodsmart.gov/es.
Auto
- DMV: insurance requirements (opens in a new tab)
California's minimum liability limits and proof of insurance.
- DMV: financial responsibility (opens in a new tab)
Reporting a collision and what happens when a driver is uninsured.
- Auto insurance guides (opens in a new tab)
The Department's auto guides, in several languages including Spanish.
- California Low Cost Auto Insurance Program (opens in a new tab)
Check eligibility and current income limits, and find a certified agent.
- Low Cost Auto (Department of Insurance) (opens in a new tab)
The Department's overview of the program.
Business and contractors
- Commercial Insurance guide (opens in a new tab)
The kinds of business insurance and what each covers.
- Division of Workers' Compensation: employers (opens in a new tab)
What California employers must do about workers' compensation.
- CSLB: check a contractor's license (opens in a new tab)
Verify a contractor's license, bond and workers' compensation before you hire.
- CSLB: consumers (opens in a new tab)
Hiring a contractor, filing a complaint, and help after a disaster.
Safety nets and national guides
- California Life & Health Insurance Guarantee Association (opens in a new tab)
Protection for California residents if a life or health insurance company fails.
- NAIC consumer guides (opens in a new tab)
National guides from the association of state insurance regulators.
On this site
- Insurance glossary: the words in your policy, explained.
- Public disclosures: Billy's license, how he is paid and your rights.
- Insurance privacy notice.