Yes, Liberty Mutual still covers California, but its menu is shorter than it used to be. The company continues to write homeowners, auto, landlord, and umbrella policies in the state, while renters, condo, dwelling fire, motorcycle, specialty vehicle, and non-standard auto coverage have been pulled or are being wound down. If you are a current policyholder, which line you hold determines whether anything changes for you.
What You Can Still Buy
Liberty Mutual’s website lists California as a state where homeowners quotes are available, and the company has identified its continuing core personal lines as auto, home, landlord, and umbrella insurance.1Insurance Business Magazine. Safeco To Exit Specialty Insurance Lines in California by 2026 Commercial coverage, including workers compensation, general liability, commercial auto, and commercial property, is also available to California businesses.2Liberty Mutual. Commercial Solutions
As of mid-2025, Liberty Mutual’s parent group held roughly 6% of the California home insurance market, making it the sixth-largest home insurer in the state. Its Safeco subsidiary ranked fourth among homeowners insurers.3San Francisco Chronicle. Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Co. California Market Data AM Best rates the company A++ with a stable outlook.
What Liberty Mutual Has Dropped or Is Dropping
The reductions have come in waves, and more than one line is affected.
Dwelling Fire Policies
Starting in September 2023, Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Company began non-renewing roughly 17,000 California dwelling fire policies, a process that ran through November 2024.4San Francisco Chronicle. Liberty Mutual Drops 17,000 Dwelling Fire Policies in California Dwelling fire coverage is a limited product that protects a structure mainly against fire damage and is commonly carried by landlords and vacation homeowners. The company said the decision stemmed from the need to retire “antiquated” technology used to manage these policies and was “not specific to California and not related to fire risk.”5ABC7 News. 17,000 Liberty Mutual Customers in California Lose Dwelling Fire Insurance
Renters and Condo Policies
In late December 2024, Liberty Mutual announced it would exit California’s condo and renters markets, affecting about 88,000 policyholders.6Press Democrat. Liberty Mutual Exiting Condo, Rental Insurance Market Safeco stopped writing new condo, renters, and watercraft policies in January 2025. Non-renewals of existing policies under Liberty Insurance Corporation started in January 2026, with the full withdrawal spread over two years.7CBS News San Francisco. Liberty Mutual Plans To Exit California Condo and Rental Insurance Markets Liberty Mutual’s renters insurance page no longer lists California as an available state.8Liberty Mutual. Renters Insurance
Motorcycle, Specialty Vehicle, and Non-Standard Auto
Starting in 2026, Safeco stopped writing new policies for motorcycles, motor homes, travel trailers, antique and classic cars, other specialty vehicles, and “non-good driver” standard auto in California, and began non-renewing existing policies in these categories.1Insurance Business Magazine. Safeco To Exit Specialty Insurance Lines in California by 2026 Drivers with less-than-good driving records are also being dropped.9United Policyholders. Liberty Mutual Company Safeco Drops Condo Coverage and Renters Insurance The company has described these moves as part of a strategy to simplify its product mix and focus on core lines that have performed better over the past decade.7CBS News San Francisco. Liberty Mutual Plans To Exit California Condo and Rental Insurance Markets
Safeco Is Now Liberty Mutual
If your policy says Safeco, that name is going away. Liberty Mutual retired the Safeco Insurance brand on April 25, 2026, and all personal lines previously sold under Safeco are now marketed under the Liberty Mutual name.10Liberty Mutual Group. Liberty Mutual Insurance Retires Safeco Brand For existing policyholders the change is cosmetic: coverage, premiums, and agent relationships stay the same, and no new underwriting is required.11IA Magazine. Safeco Rebrand to Liberty Mutual: What Independent Agents Need to Know Products sold through independent agents remain distinct from Liberty Mutual’s direct-to-consumer offerings.
Where Dropped Customers Are Being Sent
To soften the impact on customers losing Safeco renters, condo, and select auto coverage, Liberty Mutual partnered with Mercury Insurance in August 2025. Liberty Mutual is recommending that its independent agents move affected policyholders to Mercury, and Mercury is vetting Safeco-appointed agents who don’t already carry a Mercury appointment so it can bring them into its network.12PR Newswire. Mercury Insurance and Safeco Insurance Announce Plans To Transition California Customers and Agents Neither company disclosed how many policies would be transferred or when the handoff would be complete.13Insurance Business Magazine. Mercury Insurance To Take Over Thousands of Safeco Policies in California If you were covered through an independent agent, that agent is your first call.
If You Received a Non-Renewal Notice
California law requires insurers to give homeowners at least 75 days’ notice before a non-renewal takes effect.14United Policyholders. Liberty Mutual Pulls Fire Insurance From 17,000 Customers in California Start shopping right away instead of waiting for the policy to expire. An independent broker can be useful because brokers can access regional and specialty carriers that aren’t sold direct-to-consumer.
Check whether your property is covered by a wildfire moratorium before accepting a non-renewal. Under California Insurance Code section 675.1, insurers cannot cancel or non-renew residential property insurance for one year after a Governor-declared state of emergency, if the property sits within or adjacent to the fire perimeter.15California Department of Insurance. Mandatory One-Year Moratorium on Non-Renewals Multiple moratoriums were active in 2025 and 2026, including those tied to the January 2025 Palisades, Eaton, and related Los Angeles County fires16Hanson Bridgett LLP. LA Wildfires Insurance Moratorium and the December 2025 Gifford Fire in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.17California Department of Insurance. Bulletin 2026-01 One-Year Moratorium If you believe your non-renewal violates a moratorium, you can file a Request for Assistance with the California Department of Insurance.
If no private insurer will write you a policy, the California FAIR Plan is the insurer of last resort. It provides basic fire coverage with a maximum residential policy limit of $3 million and does not cover theft, liability, flood, or earthquake damage.18California Department of Insurance. California FAIR Plan Most FAIR Plan policyholders pair it with a separate “Difference in Conditions” policy to fill coverage gaps, and the combined cost typically exceeds a standard homeowners policy.19United Policyholders. The Lowdown From UP on the California FAIR Plan Consumer advocates recommend treating the FAIR Plan as a temporary stop and continuing to shop the standard market.