Rebuild cost is its own number
Four numbers orbit your house and only one belongs on the policy. Market value includes the land — and the land survives every fire. Purchase price is history. Assessed value is a tax artifact. Rebuild cost — labor, materials, debris removal, design and permitting fees to reconstruct the same house on the same lot — is what Coverage A insures. In much of coastal California, rebuild cost is far below market value; in some inland markets it's the reverse. Neither direction is a discount or a rip-off. They're different questions.
The method, step by step
Start with square footage. Our wizard suggests a starting limit at roughly $350 per square foot — a deliberately honest midpoint for California construction, and explicitly a starting point your broker verifies with a full replacement-cost valuation before anything binds.
Then adjust for what inflates rebuilds:
| Factor | Why it moves the number |
|---|---|
| Slope & access | Hillside lots need engineering, retaining, and slower staging — LA and Bay Area canyon homes routinely price above flat-lot averages |
| Custom finishes | Site-built cabinetry, stone, steel windows — the delta between tract and custom is enormous |
| Age & code gap | Older homes rebuild under today's codes — that delta belongs in ordinance-or-law coverage. Older homes → |
| Architecture | Complex rooflines, curves, and glass cost more per foot than simple volumes |
The three-year rule
If Coverage A hasn't been re-estimated in three years, treat it as stale. Construction costs in California haven't waited for anyone's renewal cycle. A five-minute review beats a six-figure gap discovered after a total loss.
Why underinsurance shows up after wildfires
Wildfire losses are total losses, so they audit the limit like nothing else — and they arrive with demand surge, when the whole region rebuilds at once and costs jump past every pre-fire estimate. The protection stack is: an honest Coverage A, an extended replacement cost cushion of typically 25–50% above it, and ordinance-or-law coverage for code upgrades. All three appear on any quote we prepare for a brush-exposed home, because that's the combination that actually rebuilds houses.
Start with your square footage
The wizard suggests a Coverage A from your home's size — live, in four minutes.
Then a licensed broker verifies it with a full replacement-cost valuation before anything binds. No fee, no obligation.
Get a pricing indication →The numbers that scale from Coverage A
Set A correctly and the rest of the policy inherits the accuracy: Coverage B defaults to 10% of A, Coverage C to 50–70%, and Coverage D to 20–30% or a time limit. Each default is adjustable — a big ADU, a serious workshop, or a long expected rebuild timeline are all reasons to move them — but they only work if the anchor is honest.
Frequently asked
My lender only requires coverage equal to the loan. Is that enough?
The lender is protecting the loan, not your equity or your rebuild. Insure to rebuild cost regardless of the mortgage balance. Lender requirements →
Can I just insure for market value to be safe?
Over-insuring wastes premium (carriers pay rebuild cost, not the limit, on partial losses) and under-insuring risks penalties and gaps. The right answer is the real rebuild number plus the ERC cushion — not a guess in either direction.
Does the wizard's $350/sq ft work for my custom hillside home?
It's the starting point, deliberately. Slope, custom construction, and architecture push real numbers well above it — which is exactly what the broker verification step is for.