Guides
High-net-worth home insurers compared
How Chubb, PURE, AIG Private Client Select, Berkley One and Vault differ on ownership, home-value minimums, rebuild terms and ratings, and what to ask a broker.
Five companies make up most of the specialist market for expensive homes: Chubb, PURE Insurance, AIG's Private Client Select, Berkley One and Vault Insurance. They write broader forms than a standard policy and sell only through brokers and independent agents. They also differ in ways the brochures do not stress: who owns the company, what happens when the house costs more to rebuild than the limit, which states they write, and whether the policy is admitted or surplus lines.
This guide compares the five using each company's own materials and the NAIC and AM Best data in their profiles. It does not rank them. For a $3 million house in one state, a different one of the five may be the sensible choice than for a $6 million house in another.
What makes a high-net-worth policy different
A standard homeowners form (ISO HO 00 03 and the insurer's own versions of it) was designed around a house that costs a few hundred thousand dollars to rebuild. Above about $1 million the problems change. Custom millwork, stone, imported tile and old-growth lumber are expensive and slow to source, a total loss can exceed any limit set at purchase, and the household owns jewelry, art, wine or a second home that the standard form caps or leaves out. The high-value home insurance: what changes above $1 million guide explains the mechanics. The specialists answer with a short list of features, and comparing those features is the point of this guide:
- Rebuild promise. extended replacement cost pays beyond the dwelling limit by some percentage or amount; guaranteed replacement cost promises to rebuild whatever it costs, usually on condition that you insure to the insurer's estimate. Both have conditions. extended and guaranteed replacement cost coverage covers them.
- Cash settlement on a total loss. Several offer to pay the limit in cash so you can rebuild elsewhere, or not at all, rather than paying only as you rebuild.
- Higher or open limits for valuables, landscaping, loss assessment and building-code upgrades, and often a scheduled valuables section.
- Loss-prevention services such as home appraisals, wildfire crews, water leak sensors and post-storm board-up.
- Packaging with auto, collector cars, watercraft and a personal umbrella. See umbrella insurance for homeowners: what it adds and where it stops.
The five, side by side
| Chubb | PURE Insurance | Private Client Select (AIG) | Berkley One | Vault | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Structure | Publicly traded insurer group | reciprocal exchange owned by its members, run by a manager that Tokio Marine owns | Managing general agency; policies issued by AIG companies | Unit of publicly traded W. R. Berkley | Reciprocal exchange plus a separate surplus lines insurer |
| 2025 NAIC group rank by homeowners premium | #8 ($4.71 billion) | #14, as Tokio Marine group ($1.95 billion) | #34, as AIG ($954.1 million) | #58, as W. R. Berkley ($405.4 million) | #79 ($239.9 million) |
| AM Best (per profile) | A++ (Superior), Sept. 2026 | A (Excellent), June 2024 | A (Excellent), Nov. 2025 | A+ (Superior), June 2026 | A- (Excellent), Nov. 2025 |
| Where it writes | Nationwide; products vary by state | All 50 states; hard-to-place homes may go to surplus lines in about 20 | All 50 states and D.C., subject to underwriting; some property may be surplus lines | 30 states and D.C.; not California | Admitted reciprocal in most states, not all; surplus lines company in all 50 |
| Home size it targets | High-value homes broadly | High-value homes | High-value homes, art, collections | Replacement value above about $2 million | Homes valued at $2 million or more |
| Sold through | Independent agents and brokers | Independent brokers only | Brokers and independent agents | Select independent agents and brokers | Appointed agents and brokers |
Premium ranks come from the NAIC's 2025 market share data as cited in each profile. Ratings and appetites change, so confirm each with your broker and see the profiles for dates.
Reading the differences
Who owns the company
Chubb and Berkley One sit inside publicly traded insurers. PURE and Vault's admitted insurer are reciprocal exchanges, owned by their policyholders but managed for a fee by a separate company; Tokio Marine has owned PURE's manager since 2020. Private Client Select is a managing general agency formed in 2023 by AIG and funds managed by Stone Point Capital, and AIG insurers still issue the policies. Ownership does not tell you who pays claims better. It tells you whose balance sheet stands behind the promise, which is why the mutual, stock and reciprocal insurers: who owns your insurer guide is worth reading before you compare a reciprocal's A rating with a stock group's A++.
What is on the declarations page
The brand on the quote is not always the legal insurer. Chubb policies are written by U.S. subsidiaries such as Federal Insurance Company, PCS policies by AIG companies, Berkley One policies by one or more W. R. Berkley subsidiaries, and PURE's by the exchange. Ask for the legal name of the issuing company, then look up its financial strength rating. A group's rating may not be the rating of the particular company on your policy.
Admitted or surplus lines
This is the quietest difference. Vault runs both an admitted reciprocal and a surplus lines company, and PURE and PCS may place some risks on a surplus lines basis. A surplus lines policy generally sits outside the state guaranty fund, and its rates and forms are not approved by the state. The admitted vs surplus lines home insurers: what you give up guide lays out what you give up. A house in a wildfire or coastal area is the most likely to end up there, and the quote may not make it obvious.
The rebuild promise
Compare these terms in the policy, not the marketing:
- Does the policy pay above the limit? By how much, and is there a cap?
- What must you do to keep the promise? Many require you to insure to the insurer's own valuation, accept inflation adjustments, report renovations and allow re-appraisals.
- What happens if you rebuild elsewhere or in a different style?
- Is building-code upgrade coverage inside the limit or on top of it?
Chubb says its policy will pay to repair or rebuild "even if the cost exceeds your policy limit," subject to the policy's conditions. Berkley One offers guaranteed replacement cost in most states, and Vault lists extended replacement cost and a cash settlement option on a total loss. The words are similar. The conditions are where the policies diverge.
Where these companies are not the only answer
Below about $2 million of replacement value, Berkley One and Vault say they are not a fit, and the same families are often served by mainstream carriers that sell an enhanced or comprehensive form, usually an HO-5-style policy with higher limits. In states where the specialists have limited appetite for wildfire, hurricane or flood exposure, the realistic comparison may be an admitted mainstream carrier against a surplus lines policy, with a Difference in conditions (DIC) policy policy layered on top.
Customer satisfaction data are thin. Chubb ranked 3rd among homeowners insurers in the J.D. Power 2026 U.S. Home Insurance Study and 2nd in 2025, per its profile, but the other four profiles report no comparable ranking, so no like-for-like comparison exists. The J.D. Power methodology is in What J.D. Power's home insurance studies measure.
Questions to ask the broker
- Which legal entity will issue the policy, and is it admitted in my state?
- How is the dwelling limit set, who re-appraises the house, and how often?
- If a total loss costs more than the limit, what exactly do you pay, and what conditions apply?
- What are my wind, hail, wildfire and water deductibles, and does any deductible waiver apply to a catastrophe loss?
- Which valuables are scheduled, at what values, and do I need appraisals?
- Is the umbrella written by the same company, and what underlying limits does it require?
- Do you have a quote from at least one other specialist?
Use the home replacement cost estimator to sanity-check the dwelling number and the valuables coverage checker for jewelry and art, then bring the results to the broker.
Key takeaways
- The specialists sell through brokers and agents. Get quotes from at least two and ask which legal entity would issue each policy.
- Structures differ: a public stock group, a member-owned reciprocal, an AIG-backed agency and a reciprocal with a surplus lines sister.
- The rebuild promise is the core of the product. Get its conditions in writing, including appraisal and inflation requirements.
- Check whether a quote is admitted or surplus lines before you compare prices, since guaranty fund protection and rate review differ.
- Home-value minimums, state availability and ratings change, so confirm them against each insurer's profile and your broker.