Home and business insurance for the Napa Valley, from a broker who lives here.
A non-renewal letter you don't understand. A weekend house that sits empty most of the month. A trade business that outgrew its first policy. I'm an independent broker, appointed with several carriers, so I can compare options across them instead of fitting you to one company's shelf. I'll explain your options in plain terms, tell you which carrier I'm representing on every placement, and never rush you toward a signature.
- American Canyon
- NapaHome base
- Yountville
- Oakville
- Rutherford
- St. Helena
- Calistoga
Start wherever you actually are.
Most people land here in one of four situations. Pick the one that sounds like you and I'll take you straight to it.
I got a non-renewal letter
Your carrier is not continuing your policy at renewal. You have time, and you have more options than the letter suggests. Here is what the letter means and what to do first.
I need a quote
Home, rental property, umbrella, and pet, or a business policy. The quote request takes about five minutes and asks for the things a carrier actually needs. No credit card, no obligation.
I have a claim, or I might
What to do in the first 48 hours, who to call first, and what my role is once the carrier assigns an adjuster. The short version: the decision is theirs, but you shouldn't have to face it alone.
I just want to understand my policy
Bring me your declarations page and I'll walk you through what it says, line by line, in plain English. No charge and no expectation that you switch anything.
What's changed in California, and what it means for a home in the Napa Valley.
The market moved. Three things account for most of what changed.
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Non-renewal letters
Several carriers have pulled back from parts of California, and the letters are landing across Napa County too. California law requires your insurer to give you advance written notice before non-renewing a homeowners policy, so you have time to act rather than days.
The first move is not to buy the cheapest quote you can find that week. It's to understand why the carrier left, whether the reason is about your specific property or about their whole book, and which carriers are still writing homes like yours.
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FAIR Plan, and the second policy that goes with it
The California FAIR Plan is the state's insurer of last resort for fire. It does that one job. It does not cover the things a standard homeowners policy does, like personal liability, water damage, or theft.
That's why a FAIR Plan policy is almost always paired with a second policy, called a difference in conditions or DIC policy, that fills in the rest. Two policies, two bills, one house. I don't place that combination, but I'm happy to explain how the pieces fit and help you check whether the standard market was exhausted first.
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Mitigation that carriers have to account for
California's Safer from Wildfires framework requires insurers to take certain wildfire mitigation steps into account when they price a policy, things like ember-resistant vents and clearing defensible space around the structure.
If you've done that work, or would be willing to, it can change which carriers will consider your home and what they charge. I'll walk you through what the framework actually requires carriers to weigh, so you're not working from a generic checklist.
Get a free quote.
About five minutes, at no cost, with no obligation at the end. The form only asks the questions that apply to what you're insuring, and nothing is sent until you have read it back.
The valley has its own coverage questions.
These are the ones Napa raises. If yours isn't listed, that's what the question form is for.
Personal
Home, rental property, umbrella, and pet, and the Napa questions that come with each of them.
- Weekend and second homes. If the house sits empty between visits, the vacancy and unoccupancy language in your policy matters more than the premium does.
- Short-term rentals. Most homeowners policies exclude business use, and short-term renting is generally treated as business use. There are policies built for this.
- Wildfire-exposed homes. Hillside lots, long private roads, homes that back onto open land. I work the standard admitted market. If your home is declined there, I will tell you plainly and explain what the fallback structure looks like.
- Rental property. A house or second unit you rent out long-term is a different policy from the one on the home you live in, and the landlord form is built for it.
- Umbrella. A pool, a teen driver, a rental, a household that hosts: the umbrella policy that's easier to overlook than it should be.
- Pets. Accident and illness coverage for dogs and cats, which is cheapest to arrange before anything is wrong.
Commercial
Small and mid-size businesses, from a one-truck operation to a full staff.
- Trades and service businesses. Landscape, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, pool service, general contractors. Liability, tools and equipment, workers' comp, and the certificates your clients keep asking for.
- Food service and hospitality. Restaurants, cafés, caterers, and event businesses. Property, liability, spoilage, and the business income coverage that matters when a few busy months carry the year.
- Creative and professional services. Photographers, videographers, consultants, designers, wedding and event work included. General liability, professional liability, and coverage for gear that travels.
- Offices and practices. Business owners policies, cyber, and professional liability where it applies.
How working with me goes.
Three steps. None of them involve a script.
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We talk about what you actually have.
The house, the cars, the business, the rental, the thing that's been nagging at you. A twenty-minute conversation beats a twenty-field form, and I'd rather ask you a follow-up than guess.
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I show you the options, tradeoffs included.
What each policy is built to do, where it stops, and what it costs. Where two options are close, I'll tell you which way I'd lean and why. If I'm acting as an agent for the carrier on a placement rather than as your broker, I'll say so at the time.
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You decide, and I stay reachable.
Renewals, a new car, a new tenant, a remodel. And if you have a claim I'll help you understand the process and stay in contact with the adjuster. The decision on a claim belongs to the carrier, but you won't be navigating it alone.
Bring me the question that doesn't fit a form.
No obligation, and no pressure to decide on the call.