Arbella Insurance homeowners insurance

Overview

Arbella Insurance Group is a Quincy, Massachusetts property-casualty insurer built around Arbella Mutual Insurance Company, a mutual insurance company that pools its business with three affiliates: Arbella Protection Insurance Company, Arbella Indemnity Insurance Company and Covenant Insurance Company of Farmington, Connecticut. It sells personal insurance, including homeowners, condo, renters and auto, in Massachusetts and Connecticut, and commercial insurance in those states plus New Hampshire and Rhode Island. Everything is sold through independent agents; Arbella does not sell home policies directly.

Arbella Insurance Group ranked #77 among U.S. homeowners insurance groups by 2025 direct premiums written, with $252.5 million (0.13% of the national market), according to NAIC market share data. About $220.6 million of that came from Massachusetts, where Arbella was the sixth-largest home insurer in 2025 with 5.47% of the market, behind MAPFRE, Liberty Mutual, Safety Insurance, Andover and Travelers. Based on the same NAIC data, Massachusetts produced roughly 87% of Arbella's homeowners premium.

Arbella is known in New England as an auto-and-home company: its pricing and underwriting lean heavily toward customers who insure both with it.

History

Arbella was created in 1988 to take over Kemper's book of Massachusetts business when Kemper left the state. Its founders were John Donohue, a former assistant attorney general, and Francis X. "Frank" Bellotti, the former Massachusetts attorney general for whom Donohue had worked. Skeptics doubted the new company would last. Instead it grew through the 1990s by taking over smaller insurers, and kept growing after GEICO and Progressive entered the Massachusetts auto market when the state deregulated auto rates in 2008. Donohue told the Boston Globe in 2025 that Arbella collects about $1.2 billion in premiums a year, against $200 million at its start.

Bellotti remained active at the company until his death in December 2024 at age 101. On March 4, 2025, Arbella announced that Paul Brady, executive vice president and head of claims and earlier its chief information officer, would become chief executive officer on June 1, 2025. Donohue, chairman since 1988 and CEO for 24 years, stayed on as chairman.

One decision from the last decade still shapes who Arbella insures. In 2016 the Boston Globe reported that Arbella had stopped writing new homeowners-only policies about four years earlier and was moving its remaining homeowners-only customers to Norfolk & Dedham, in the same article that reported a $59 million loss for 2015, a year of record snowfall, though the company said the move was not triggered by any one year's results and that it remained committed to bundling home and auto.

Homeowners coverage

Arbella's homeowners policy covers the house and other structures, personal property, additional living expenses and personal liability, with claims reportable around the clock. The add-ons it highlights are Home Systems Protection, an equipment breakdown coverage endorsement for central air, water heaters, furnaces, heat pumps, electric garage doors, electrical panels, permanent generators and deep well pumps; service line coverage for underground utility lines; and Home Cyber Protection, which addresses viruses, malware, cyberbullying and data breaches. Arbella notes that home systems coverage is not part of the standard policy and has to be added by your agent. Engagement rings and other fine jewelry can be scheduled for loss, theft and damage.

Condo policies cover the unit's walls, ceilings and countertops beyond the association's master policy, plus additional living expenses during repairs. Renters and personal umbrella policies are also sold, and a rental property policy for non-resident landlords covers the dwelling, other structures, fair rental value and tenant relocation expenses.

Arbella's public pages are brief: they do not spell out roof settlement terms, water backup limits or extended replacement cost options. Those details live in the policy forms your agent quotes, so ask how the roof is settled, what limit applies to sewer and drain backup, and whether the dwelling limit carries any extension above Coverage A. If you live near the coast, ask about wind or hurricane deductibles as well.

Discounts and savings

Arbella lists more home discounts than most regional carriers, with maximums: Auto Rewards up to 25%, New Home Credit up to 20%, MAHA Workshop Savings up to 10% (MAHA, the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance, runs homebuyer workshops; ask the agent about eligibility), New to Arbella up to 7%, Mass Save up to 5%, Smart Devices up to 5%, Loss Mitigation 5%, Mass Golf Association 5%, Renew and Save up to 3% and Residence Safety up to 3%. It says insuring home and auto together can save 20% or more (see bundling home and auto insurance: when it pays).

The Mass Save discount is unusual: complete a no-cost in-home energy assessment through Mass Save, the energy-efficiency program sponsored by the state's utilities, send it to your agent, and you can get 5% off. An assessment completed in the past two years may qualify. Two cautions from Arbella's own fine print: not every discount is offered in every state, and certain discounts decrease at each renewal until they disappear, so a large first-year New to Arbella credit will not last.

Where it sells and recent market moves

Arbella writes homeowners insurance only in Massachusetts and Connecticut. It opened a commercial lines office in Bedford, New Hampshire in August 2026, but that expansion is for business insurance; personal lines remain in the two states.

Financially, the recent story is a recovery. AM Best's January 2025 release credited "numerous pricing, underwriting and claims initiatives" for significantly improved 2024 results and noted that Arbella had reduced exposure and bought more catastrophe reinsurance. For 2025 Arbella reported a 95.2% combined ratio and $87.5 million of net income, which it called one of its most profitable years. For a homeowner, initiatives like these usually show up as tighter underwriting and rate increases at renewal. If Arbella will not write your home on its own, the Massachusetts FAIR Plan and other regional mutuals are the usual alternatives.

Claims

You can report a claim 24 hours a day by phone at 800-272-3552 (1-800-ARBELLA), online through Arbella's claim form, which is open to policyholders and non-policyholders, or in the myArbella app. After you report, Arbella assigns a claim number and a Claim Service Specialist as your dedicated contact, and it promises to return calls the same business day and inspect property promptly. The Quincy home office doubles as a claim service center, and branch offices and drive-in claim centers around New England handle claims and appraisals closer to home. Customer service representatives answer weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Ratings and reputation

On January 28, 2025, AM Best affirmed Arbella Mutual's financial strength rating of A (Excellent) with a stable outlook and its long-term issuer credit rating of "a," and revised the issuer credit outlook to positive. AM Best assessed the balance sheet as very strong, citing risk-adjusted capitalization at the strongest level, and rated operating performance adequate. Arbella has held the A rating since October 2020, when AM Best upgraded it from A- (Excellent). The rating covers all four pooled companies, including Covenant in Connecticut.

Arbella's public reputation rests largely on its community profile: the Arbella Insurance Foundation, founded in 2005, has given more than $45 million to New England organizations, and the Boston Business Journal has repeatedly listed Arbella as a best place to work and one of the most charitable companies in Massachusetts.

Who it suits

Arbella suits Massachusetts and Connecticut homeowners who want to buy home and auto from one regional mutual through a local independent agent, especially households that can stack its bundling, new-home and Mass Save discounts. It suits less well homeowners who want a home-only policy, who live outside its two personal-lines states, or who prefer to compare coverage terms online before talking to an agent.

• Strengths: A (Excellent) from AM Best, with a positive issuer credit outlook since January 2025; long Massachusetts track record and a sixth-place share of the state's home market; Home Systems Protection, service line and home cyber add-ons; distinctive discounts such as Mass Save and MAHA.
• Weaknesses: homeowners sold only in Massachusetts and Connecticut; a strong tilt toward home-and-auto accounts after it stopped writing new homeowners-only policies; some discounts shrink at each renewal; little coverage detail published online.

How to contact Arbella Insurance