California Casualty has filed updates to its California homeowners program that would replace its existing wildfire risk score with ZestyAI’s Z-Fire model, aiming to better align pricing with property-level wildfire exposure while keeping rates flat. The filing requests a revenue-neutral rate change of 0.0% and is scheduled to take effect October 1, 2026.

The program currently covers 48,413 policyholders in California and represents approximately $100 million in written premium, making it a meaningful homeowners book in a state where carriers continue to retrench. California Casualty said the update supports the California Department of Insurance’s Sustainable Insurance Strategy and is designed to help move eligible homeowners off the FAIR Plan without raising overall premiums.

Beyond adopting ZestyAI’s Z-Fire score, the insurer is restructuring its rating plan to split fire into multiple perils, separate weather and non-weather water losses, and introduce new rating variables tied to property characteristics such as foundations, solar panels, trampolines, and swimming pools. California Casualty noted that it already exceeds the state’s participation requirements in distressed areas and plans to continue adding policies where coverage availability has become constrained.