On this page
  1. Why it matters
  2. How the documents split
  3. The paths
  4. What people mix up
  5. How to check
  6. Limits
  7. Related records

Home / Guides / Insurance designations / Mitigation documentation for insurers

Mitigation documentation for insurers

Last verified 2026-08-23.

California wildfire-rating insurers must credit listed mitigation. CDI’s consumer FAQ says tell the company after you finish the work. You may have to prove it, or sit for an inspection. How they verify is the carrier’s filed underwriting, not one statewide photo list. IBHS is a separate photo-then-visit designation. Oregon DFR does not publish a credit packet.

You are in a portal with five photos of the five feet, or you are holding a roof invoice, or you are waiting in the driveway for a third-party evaluator. Those are three packets. The carrier credit file, the IBHS designation file, and a claims inventory are not interchangeable.

This is an insurance satellite of /insurance/. It is not a second hub. No g3-passed exhibit matches this object. The scene is the packet in your hand. Do not use a house-level hub graphic as a policy form.

Why it matters

People collect one album and expect every desk to stamp it. California credit is Safer from Wildfires (10 CCR 2644.9). IBHS is a parcel designation with its own photos and an in-person visit. Oregon claims guidance is inventory photos after a fire. Mixing those files produces a rejected upload and a still-wrong score. Safer from Wildfires is not Oregon law. IBHS does not replace adopted code.

How the documents split

PacketWho asksWhat they actually want
California creditA wildfire-rating admitted insurerProof or an inspection, per that company’s filed underwriting
Revised wildfire scoreYou, after you finish a measureA written request. The company has 30 days.
IBHS designationIBHSEligibility photos, then an in-person evaluation, then a certificate
Oregon claimDFR consumer pagePhotos of rooms and damaged items. A claims inspection may precede repairs.
Building officialAdopted codeA permit path. Not this packet.

CDI does not print a statewide shot list. This site does not invent one.

The paths

1. California credit. Finish a listed measure. Call the company or broker. CDI says you may need proof, or an inspection may be required. Savings show at the next policy period. The measure list lives on insurance measures. Class A is still an assembly. See covering versus assembly. Zone 0 is still hardscape. See Zone 0.

2. Ask what proof they filed. CDI’s insurer FAQ lets the company inspect, or accept the answers on its own application, if it does not wish to inspect. Frequency is at the company’s discretion. That is why two neighbors with the same roof get different homework.

3. Request the revised score. 10 CCR 2644.9. After a new measure, the company must send a revised wildfire risk score or classification within 30 days of your request. The writing must say which features drove the score, which measures would lower it, and the premium reduction for each measure under the rating plan then in effect. Appeal to the insurer first. Then CDI, 800-927-4357.

4. IBHS, if that is the document the carrier named. Pay the fee. Submit eligibility photos of all sides, key building features, and the 0–5 foot noncombustible zone, including decks. After those photos pass, a third-party evaluator comes on site. Annual reviews also need maintenance photos. The 2025 standard limits this designation to California or Oregon single-family detached homes. The certificate is not a permit.

5. Oregon. Photograph the house for a claim if you have a loss. That is DFR’s inventory advice. It is not a Safer from Wildfires worksheet. Ask the carrier whether it is scoring IBHS, its own checklist, or something else. Oregon has a FAIR Plan if the standard market will not write.

What people mix up

  • Treating IBHS eligibility photos as the California credit file.
  • Treating a claims inventory as a hardening credit.
  • Waiting for the company to notice the new roof. CDI says you tell them.
  • Expecting the credit on this month’s bill. CDI says next policy period.
  • Calling a photo a building official’s stamp.
  • Inventing a statewide list of shots that “always” prevent non-renewal. No public source opened here prints that list.

How to check

  1. Read the CDI consumer FAQ. Proof or inspection. Next policy period.
  2. Ask the carrier which verification process it filed. Do not guess from a blog checklist.
  3. If you finished work after bind, request the revised score in writing. Calendar 30 days.
  4. If the carrier named IBHS, open the technical standard and match the eligibility-photo section. All sides. Five-foot zone. Then the visit.
  5. If the lot is Oregon, stop treating this as 10 CCR 2644.9.

Limits

This page does not sell a policy. It does not quote a discount. It does not list the photos that get you non-renewed. That object is carrier underwriting, not a public statewide protocol. FireApproved is not CDI, not DFR, not IBHS, and not the AHJ. Confirm with the company that is scoring you.

Questions

Is there one photo list every insurer accepts?

No. CDI’s consumer FAQ says you may need to provide proof that the work was completed, or an inspection may be required. CDI’s insurer FAQ says verification method and frequency are at the company’s discretion. The company can inspect, or it can accept the answers on its application. Ask the carrier which packet it filed.

If I upload IBHS eligibility photos, does that prove Safer from Wildfires?

No. IBHS wants photos of all sides of the home, key building features, and the 0–5 foot noncombustible zone, then an in-person evaluation. That is a designation program. California insurance credit is 10 CCR 2644.9. They overlap on the house. They are not the same file.

What does Oregon want?

Oregon DFR’s wildfire page tells you to photograph rooms and damaged items for a claim inventory. That is not a mitigation-credit protocol. SB 82 requires insurers to consider home hardening and defensible space. It does not publish a statewide photo list. Ask the carrier.

I finished the work after I bound. Now what?

In California, tell the company and ask for a revised wildfire risk score. 10 CCR 2644.9 gives the insurer 30 days after that request. You can appeal the score to the insurer, then to CDI. This site does not list a photo that triggers non-renewal. That is carrier underwriting, not a public statewide rule.

Sources