California mobile and manufactured home insurance

What it covers

• The manufactured home structure, often at replacement or stated value
• Attached structures like carports, decks, and skirting
• Personal belongings and personal liability
• Additional living expenses after a covered loss
• Optional trip/transit coverage when the home is moved

Older homes and fire-prone parks

Manufactured homes can be harder to place when they are older or sit in a high fire-hazard area. This is our specialty - we shop non-standard carriers and, where necessary, use the FAIR Plan plus a difference-in-conditions wrap to build broader protection.

Why 1976 is the date every carrier asks about

On 15 June 1976 the federal HUD Code took effect, setting national construction and safety standards for manufactured housing - including fire resistance, wind resistance, and electrical systems. It is the single most important date in this market.

A home built before that date is a mobile home; one built after is a manufactured home. Many carriers simply will not write pre-1976 units, and those that do often restrict the form or the settlement basis. It is usually the first question underwriting asks, ahead of condition or location.

• Pre-1976 units face a much smaller carrier pool and often actual cash value settlement only
• Post-1976 homes qualify with more carriers, and post-1994 units meet tightened wind and thermal standards
• Tie-downs and an engineered foundation system materially affect both eligibility and price
• Aluminum branch wiring, original electrical panels, and an aging roof are common declination reasons regardless of build date

Actual cash value is the trap in this market

Manufactured homes depreciate in a way site-built homes generally do not, and a great many policies on them settle claims at actual cash value. That means a total loss pays the depreciated value of a twenty-year-old structure, which can fall well short of what it costs to buy and set a replacement unit.

Replacement cost coverage is available on many post-1976 homes and is worth asking about specifically, because it is often not the default. Where a carrier will not offer it, stated value or agreed value can be a middle path.

The distinction matters more here than almost anywhere else - our guide to replacement cost versus actual cash value walks through how the two settle.

Park-owned land, and what your policy does not reach

If you own the home but rent the space, the park owns the land and usually insures the common areas, roads, and its own structures. Your policy covers your home, your belongings, your liability, and typically your attached structures - the awning, carport, skirting, and steps, which are often written under a separate limit that is easy to set too low.

Two things routinely surprise owners: the park's policy does nothing for your unit, and the land underneath you is not yours to insure. If a fire runs through the park, your recovery comes from your own limits alone.

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