Can I Get Just Fire Insurance on My Home?
Fire-only policies exist in some states for high-risk homes, but most lenders require broader coverage, so it rarely satisfies a mortgage.
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Why a fire-only policy probably won't fix this
If a company dropped you over roof age, old wiring, or a pulled-back zip code, a fire-only policy doesn't solve the actual problem, which is that a lender needs proof of a standard homeowners policy before a loan can stay in good standing. Fire insurance by itself usually leaves out wind, hail, liability, and theft, and most mortgage agreements spell out that those have to be covered too. What decides your situation is the reason stated in that cancellation or non-renewal letter. If it's a roof past a certain age, some insurers will still write a full policy once the roof is replaced or inspected. If it's claims history or location, you're more likely looking at a high-risk or surplus lines carrier that writes full coverage, not a fire-only policy.
Compare full coverage before the deadline hits
The letter gave you a date, and a lender still needs standard homeowners coverage by then. Checking what different insurers offer now costs nothing and shows whether a better option exists before yours runs out.
What a fire-only policy actually covers
A fire-only policy, sometimes called a dwelling fire policy or DP-1, insures the structure against fire and a short list of named perils, usually lightning and sometimes a few others listed on the form. It doesn't cover liability if someone gets hurt on the property, it doesn't cover personal belongings unless added separately, and it doesn't cover wind or hail damage unless the policy specifically names those. It's a narrower product than a standard homeowners policy, built for a different purpose.
These policies show up most often on rental properties, vacant homes, or houses under construction, where the owner isn't living there and doesn't need liability coverage for personal injury the way an occupied home does. They're also used sometimes as a stopgap for homes that can't get standard coverage at all, like a house mid-renovation or one with a condemned status being worked through. None of that matches someone who lives in the house full time and has a mortgage.
If the house is paid off and there's no lender requiring coverage, the choice of what to carry is up to the owner, and a fire-only policy is legal to hold on its own. But even then, giving up liability coverage means a lawsuit from an injury on the property would have to be paid out of pocket, and giving up wind and hail coverage matters a lot depending on where the house sits. Someone who owns the home outright and wants to self-insure against everything but fire is taking on real risk, not just skipping a line item.
Most insurers also won't sell a fire-only policy as a replacement for standard coverage if the reason for non-renewal is fixable. If the declarations page or the non-renewal letter points to something specific like roof age or an old electrical panel, getting that repaired or inspected and reapplying for full coverage usually solves the actual problem rather than narrowing what's covered and still leaving a liability gap.
How much does a fire-only policy actually cost
Dropping liability, theft, wind, and hail to insure against fire alone sounds like it should cost a lot less than a standard policy. Sometimes it does. But fire-only policies are often sold to houses that insurers see as higher risk in the first place, like older homes, vacant properties, or ones with outdated wiring, and that risk gets priced in separately from the narrower coverage. The savings can end up smaller than expected once a company factors in the same roof age or electrical system that got the house dropped from standard coverage to begin with.
There's also the matter of who sells these policies. Standard carriers write some dwelling fire policies, but a lot of this business goes through surplus lines insurers, the companies that take on risks the regular market won't. Those insurers aren't bound by the same rate regulations as standard carriers in most states, so pricing can vary more from one company to the next, and shopping around matters more than it would for an ordinary homeowners policy.
None of this answers the actual cost question without a quote, because fire-only pricing depends on the home's value, its location, its construction, and the specific perils the policy names beyond fire and lightning. A house in a wildfire-prone area pays differently than one that isn't, even for the same narrow form. What's worth knowing going in is that the premium isn't the only cost. Paying out of pocket for a liability claim or an uncovered wind loss is a cost too, and it's the one that fire-only coverage doesn't protect against.
For someone with a mortgage and a non-renewal letter in hand, the cost comparison that matters isn't fire-only versus standard. It's the lender's deadline versus the time it takes to either fix what triggered the non-renewal or find a carrier willing to write full coverage on the house as it stands. A cheaper fire-only policy that doesn't satisfy the loan doesn't solve the problem regardless of what it costs.
Before the deadline arrives
Check the lender requirement on the mortgage and the specific reason listed on the non-renewal letter. Those two things decide whether fixing the issue or finding a new carrier gets coverage back in place in time.
