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Difference in conditions (DIC) insurance is a specialized policy that covers perils your standard homeowners policy explicitly excludes, such as floods, earthquakes, mudslides, and certain water damage events. It works alongside your existing home insurance rather than replacing it. Depending on what your current policy already covers, a DIC policy can act as your primary coverage for a completely uncovered peril, or step in as excess coverage once you've exhausted a lower limit. For homeowners in areas where those excluded perils are a real, recurring threat, it closes a gap that could otherwise mean a total loss with no insurance recovery.

What this coverage includes

Named perils your home policy excludes

Standard homeowners policies routinely carve out entire categories of loss. Earthquake damage, flood inundation, landslide and mudslide movement, and certain water intrusion events are the most common exclusions. A DIC policy names those perils directly and insures them. You know exactly what you're buying coverage for, and you know exactly what triggers a claim. There's no ambiguity about whether the peril was a covered cause of loss.

Primary or excess coverage, depending on your situation

A DIC policy is flexible in how it layers with your other coverage. If a peril isn't covered anywhere else in your insurance program, the DIC policy becomes your primary protection for that exposure. If another policy already covers the peril but at a limit that might not be enough, the DIC policy sits above it as excess coverage, activating once the underlying limit is exhausted. Either way, you end up with a more complete picture of protection than a standard homeowners policy alone can provide.

Gap-filling for FAIR Plan and similar state programs

California homeowners in high-brush-fire zones often end up in the California FAIR Plan after private carriers decline to write their homes. The FAIR Plan covers fire and a handful of other perils, but it doesn't cover water damage from plumbing, theft, or personal liability. A DIC policy is specifically designed to wrap around the FAIR Plan and fill those missing lines. The result is a coverage stack that functions roughly like a standard homeowners policy, even though you couldn't get one from a traditional carrier. Bittick is licensed in California and can help homeowners piece that stack together.

Coverage for homes that standard carriers won't write

Some homes become effectively uninsurable in the admitted market after a series of large claims, or simply because of where they sit geographically. A DIC policy can provide meaningful protection for those properties, covering the high-frequency or high-severity perils that made the home a difficult risk in the first place. It's not a replacement for getting back into the admitted market when that becomes possible, but it keeps coverage in place in the meantime.

Pairs well with

Homeowners Insurance

A DIC policy is designed to work alongside a standard homeowners policy, not instead of it. You need the base policy in place first so the DIC coverage can fill the gaps it leaves.

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Flood Insurance

In some situations, a standalone flood policy through the NFIP or a private flood carrier makes more sense than flood coverage through a DIC policy. Bittick can compare both options for your specific address and flood zone.

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Earthquake Insurance

Standalone earthquake policies sometimes offer broader structural coverage or more favorable deductible structures than an earthquake peril added through a DIC policy. Worth comparing side by side.

Umbrella Insurance

An umbrella policy increases your liability limits across your home and auto policies, but it doesn't fill property coverage gaps. DIC and umbrella address different exposures and often belong together in a complete personal insurance program.

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What this coverage protects against

Common risks and how this coverage addresses them. Tap any scenario to expand.

  • A spring flood hits a home near the Boise River floodplain.

    The risk

    A homeowner in the North End has a standard homeowners policy. After a high-water event pushes the Boise River out of its banks, the lower level of the home takes on several inches of water. The homeowners policy excludes flood damage entirely.

    How this coverage helps

    A DIC policy naming flood as a covered peril steps in as primary coverage for the loss. The homeowner files a claim under the DIC policy and recovers the cost to dry out, remediate, and repair the damaged space.

  • An earthquake cracks the foundation of a foothills home.

    The risk

    A home built on the rocky, decomposed-granite terrain above Eagle sits on a slab foundation. A moderate earthquake opens a diagonal crack through the foundation wall and shifts a load-bearing corner. Standard homeowners policies exclude earthquake damage.

    How this coverage helps

    The DIC policy covers earthquake as a named peril. The homeowner files a claim for foundation repair and any resulting structural damage, rather than absorbing tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket.

  • A California hillside home is in the FAIR Plan but needs more coverage.

    The risk

    A homeowner in a Southern California brush-fire zone can only get coverage through the California FAIR Plan. The FAIR Plan covers fire but doesn't cover theft, water damage from a burst pipe, or liability if a visitor gets hurt on the property.

    How this coverage helps

    A DIC policy wraps around the FAIR Plan to cover the gaps. Together, the two policies provide a coverage stack that resembles what a standard homeowners policy would have offered before the carrier non-renewed the home.

  • A home with multiple prior claims can't find standard coverage.

    The risk

    After a fire claim and a water damage claim in the same five-year period, a homeowner's carrier non-renews the policy. Other admitted carriers decline to quote because of the claims history, leaving the homeowner without a home insurance option in the standard market.

    How this coverage helps

    A DIC policy, often placed through surplus lines markets, can insure the home's key excluded perils while the homeowner works toward rebuilding an insurability history. Bittick's access to multiple carriers, including surplus lines markets, opens options that a single-carrier agency might not be able to offer.

  • A mudslide damages a home on a sloped lot in the Treasure Valley foothills.

    The risk

    Heavy late-winter rain saturates a hillside lot on the north-facing side of the Boise foothills. The basalt-and-clay soil can't absorb the volume fast enough, and a slow mudslide pushes against the home's retaining wall and garage. Homeowners policies typically exclude earth movement.

    How this coverage helps

    A DIC policy that names landslide and mudslide covers the structural damage and debris removal. Without it, the homeowner would be paying for repairs while still carrying a mortgage on a damaged property.

  • An ice dam backs water under the roof deck during a freeze-thaw cycle.

    The risk

    Treasure Valley winters bring stretches of freeze and thaw that are hard on rooflines. Ice dams form at the eaves, meltwater backs up under the shingles, and water gets into the attic and ceiling. Some standard policies cover this; others exclude it as a maintenance issue or apply sublimits that don't come close to covering the actual repair.

    How this coverage helps

    A homeowner who has identified this gap in their standard policy can add ice-and-snow coverage through a DIC policy. When the claim happens, there's a policy in place designed to respond to it, rather than a coverage dispute about whether the damage was sudden or gradual.

  • A homeowner's flood limit runs out before the loss is fully paid.

    The risk

    A homeowner near Nampa has an NFIP flood policy with a $250,000 building limit. A significant flood event causes $310,000 in structural damage. The NFIP policy pays to its limit and stops. The remaining $60,000 has nowhere to go.

    How this coverage helps

    A DIC policy structured as excess flood coverage kicks in once the underlying NFIP limit is exhausted. The homeowner recovers the full loss rather than absorbing the overage personally.

Frequently asked questions

How is difference in conditions insurance different from regular homeowners insurance?
A standard homeowners policy covers a broad set of perils but deliberately excludes some of the most expensive ones, particularly floods, earthquakes, and earth movement. A DIC policy is built specifically to cover those excluded perils. You typically carry both: the homeowners policy for the everyday covered perils, and the DIC policy for the gaps.
Do I need DIC insurance if I'm in Idaho and not in an obvious flood or earthquake zone?
It depends on your specific address and your existing coverage. Parts of the Treasure Valley sit near the Boise River and Snake River drainages, and the foothills above Eagle and Boise have real earth-movement exposure after wet winters. If your standard policy already covers the perils you're worried about at limits that make sense for your home's value, you may not need a separate DIC policy. The right starting point is a coverage review with Bittick to identify actual gaps.
How much does difference in conditions insurance cost?
Pricing varies significantly based on the perils you're adding, the location and construction of the home, and the limits you need. A flood endorsement for a home with moderate exposure costs far less than earthquake coverage on an older unreinforced structure in a high-seismic area. Bittick shops your risk across multiple carriers to find competitive options rather than quoting from a single source.
Does DIC insurance replace flood insurance or earthquake insurance?
Not necessarily. In some cases, a standalone flood policy or standalone earthquake policy offers better terms than adding those perils through a DIC policy. In other cases, the DIC structure is more efficient or the only available option. Bittick compares both paths for your specific situation before recommending one.
I'm in California and have the FAIR Plan. Do I still need a separate policy?
Almost certainly yes. The FAIR Plan covers fire and a limited list of other perils, but it excludes theft, water damage from plumbing, and liability coverage. A DIC policy is the standard solution for filling those gaps. Bittick is licensed in California and regularly helps homeowners build a complete coverage stack on top of a FAIR Plan policy.
Can I get DIC coverage if my home has had multiple insurance claims?
Often yes, though it typically means going outside the admitted market into surplus lines, where carriers specialize in risks that standard companies decline. Surplus lines coverage is legitimate, state-regulated insurance, but the terms and pricing reflect the elevated risk. Bittick has access to surplus lines markets and can explain what's realistically available for your home's claims history.

Find Out What Your Home Policy Is Missing

Bittick will review your current coverage, identify gaps, and shop DIC options across multiple carriers to find a fit for your home and budget.

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