Branch Insurance vs Lemonade

Verdict

Branch Insurance and Lemonade both are insurtechs (Lemonade founded in 2015, Branch in 2017), both sit under public benefit corporations (Branch Financial and Lemonade, Inc., a certified B Corp), and both carry a Demotech Financial Stability Rating of A (Exceptional) as listed on their sites in October 2026, with no AM Best rating. Lenders commonly accept a Demotech A. The ways they sell and charge differ.

Branch is built around bundling home and auto online. You enter a name and address, it pulls outside data and shows a price for the bundle. It also sells through independent agents and partners embedded at a home purchase or loan, such as Rocket Mortgage. In most states the insurer is Branch Insurance Exchange, an Ohio reciprocal owned by its members, though some states are written by General Security National Insurance Company or Everspan Insurance Company. Branch is not among the 125 largest homeowners groups in NAIC's 2025 data, and it does not publish a state-by-state product list; it says its exchange products are not available in California. Lemonade is a public company (NYSE: LMND) that ranked #47 in 2025 ($517.0 million), though that NAIC line includes renters and condo policies. It sells homeowners in 23 states and DC, only through its app and website, with no phone sales and no agents.

Cost is where they differ most. A Branch member pays a surplus contribution on top of premium, up to 15% of premium for the first five years and 2% after, and Branch Financial keeps a 5% management fee. Compare the total, not the premium line. Lemonade takes a flat fee, buys reinsurance and pays claims, then may donate leftover premium to charities in its Giveback, which is not a refund to you. Both have shrunk risk: Branch cut staff and raised rates in 2023 after rapid growth, and Lemonade stopped writing new home policies in parts of Texas in 2025. Lemonade's legal notice says some states' home policies, including in California and Texas, are underwritten by Homesite Group members.

Choose Branch Insurance if

• You want home and auto bundled in one online quote, or prefer buying through an independent agent or lender partner.
• You live outside California in a state where Branch writes, and you will confirm availability with your exact address.
• You like the member-owned structure and Subscriber Savings Accounts, and accept the surplus contribution.
• You will read the actual policy, because Branch publishes few form-level details.

Choose Lemonade if

• You want to buy and claim entirely in an app and don't need an agent.
• You want belongings paid at replacement cost, with deductible-free Extra Coverage for jewelry, art and cameras.
• You are in a lower-catastrophe area in one of its 23 states or DC.
• You like the idea that leftover premium may go to a charity you choose (the Giveback).

Key differences

Before you decide

Quote the same Coverage A, deductibles and endorsements from each, then ask what you pay in total, including any subscriber contribution, and which company issues the policy. Read how each settles the roof and what wind and hail deductibles apply. insurtech home insurers: what they changed explains the model, reciprocal exchanges: how they work covers how surplus contributions work, and buying home insurance online: what to watch lists what to check before you buy without an agent.