One Alliance North America Insurance homeowners insurance

Overview

One Alliance North America Insurance Company is a Texas-domiciled property insurer, run from Sarasota, Florida, that sells homeowners, condo, renters, landlord (dwelling fire), earthquake and small-business coverage through independent agents. Until 2025 it was Universal North America Insurance Company, the U.S. arm of Puerto Rico's Universal Group. In January 2025 it was sold to 5B Alliance, LLC, an investment group led by Rafael Cedeño that also owns One Alliance insurers in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, and it took the One Alliance name. In California it does business as OANA Insurance Company of California.

The 5B Alliance Group ranked #91 among U.S. homeowners insurance groups by 2025 direct premiums written, with $212.3 million (0.11% of the national market), according to NAIC market share data. That makes it a small carrier by national standards, concentrated in hurricane and wildfire states: it writes in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas.

Many policyholders know the company by its old name, which causes a second kind of confusion: Universal North America, owned by Puerto Rico's Universal Group, is a different company from Florida's much larger Universal Property & Casualty, as Florida press coverage has noted.

History

The holding company, then Universal Insurance Holdings of North America, Inc., was organized in Delaware in December 2003 to market residential property insurance, and the carrier began writing in Florida in May 2004. Two insurers were set up under it: Universal Insurance Company of North America, domiciled in Florida, and Universal North America Insurance Company, domiciled in Texas.

The company grew outside Florida in the years after. In 2011, when Allstate stopped renewing about 44,700 North Carolina homeowners, landlord and mobile home policies that were not paired with an Allstate auto policy, Allstate said most of those customers would receive a property insurance quote from Universal North America under an agreement between the two companies.

Florida became a problem later. In May 2021 the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation approved a consent order letting the Florida company cancel up to 13,294 policies on 45 days' notice after a net loss of about $22.6 million in 2020, as part of a plan to merge it into the Texas company, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. The two carriers merged into Universal North America Insurance Company in June 2021.

Universal Group agreed in early 2024 to sell its U.S. operations to 5B Alliance. The sale, covering the holding company, the insurer and the managing general agent One Alliance Insurance Managers, closed on January 31, 2025 (the company gives January 1, 2025 as the effective date). The Texas Department of Insurance then approved the name change to One Alliance North America Insurance Company. Demotech reported that the company bought a new headquarters building in Sarasota and opened an office in Orlando, and Georgia was its most recent state. Miguel Barrales is president.

Homeowners coverage

The standard homeowners policy covers the dwelling and attached structures (the company specifically mentions swimming pools and screened pool enclosures, a common Florida question), other structures, personal property, loss of use, personal liability, medical payments to others and loss assessment for association charges after a covered loss.

Optional endorsements, sold for extra premium and not in every state, include scheduled personal property, water damage, personal injury, increased liability and loss assessment limits, replacement cost on personal property, expanded replacement cost on the dwelling, increased other structures, permitted incidental occupancies, rental to others, seasonal or unoccupied property, townhouse or rowhouse coverage and identity fraud expense.

Its most distinctive add-on is home equipment protection, a form of equipment breakdown coverage coverage. It pays for electrical arcing and mechanical breakdown of air conditioning, heating and hot water systems, well pumps, pool equipment, home electronics and security systems, which a standard homeowners policy excludes as wear and tear or mechanical failure.

The company also sells stand-alone earthquake insurance in two versions; its product page is written for California homeowners. On the company's sample home insured for $250,000, the Comprehensive policy adds other structures, personal property and additional living expenses with a 10% deductible ($25,000), while the Limited policy covers mainly the house, with $5,000 for belongings and a 15% deductible ($37,500). Flood is excluded from the homeowners policy; the company writes National Flood Insurance Program policies and, in Florida, a flood endorsement that is not part of the NFIP. Landlords can buy a dwelling fire policy with loss of rental income coverage.

Discounts and savings

The company does not publish a discount list. In Florida, its homeowners pages point policyholders to the state's hurricane loss mitigation disclosure, under which a wind mitigation inspection documenting roof shape, roof-deck attachment, roof-to-wall connections and opening protection can lower the wind portion of the premium. Ask the agent which other credits apply in your state.

Where it sells and recent market moves

One Alliance North America writes in nine states through appointed agents, and holds licenses in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington where it was not yet writing as of Demotech's report on the name change. It has said it plans to add auto, private flood and more commercial lines.

AM Best credits the new owners with derisking and diversifying the book, significant rate increases and milder weather in its main areas for a profitable 2025, so renewal increases have been part of the turnaround. NAIC data show the group's 2025 homeowners loss ratio (direct losses incurred against premiums earned) at about 29%, a light year for claims. In North Carolina, homeowners rates start from the North Carolina Rate Bureau manual.

In May 2026 the company closed its first catastrophe bond, a $115 million One Shield Re issue, according to Artemis. It provides three years of named-storm reinsurance for Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas, plus wildfire protection in California.

Claims

New claims are reported 24/7 at 866-999-0898 or online; an emergency must be reported by phone. Existing claims go to 888-877-0770 (808-531-9733 in Hawaii). The company's published timeline aims to assign an adjuster within one business day, inspect and write the estimate within 72 hours where possible, and process payment within five days once documents are in. It can advance money for shelter and food after a severe loss. Its Preferred Pros and the Alacrity contractor network handle water extraction, board-up and rebuilding with a three-year workmanship warranty. You can use your own contractor; tell the adjuster.

NFIP flood claims go to 888-598-0457 (888-598-0447 in Florida).

Ratings and reputation

The company holds three financial ratings, each at the minimum that Fannie Mae accepts for a mortgaged home (only one is required):

• AM Best: B (Fair), with a "bb" issuer rating and a negative outlook, affirmed on March 13, 2026, when AM Best removed the ratings from under review. AM Best cut the rating from B++ to B+ in June 2023, placed it under review in October 2023 after 2023 weather losses, and downgraded it to B in February 2025 once the sale removed the support of Universal Group. The negative outlook reflects elevated leverage at the holding company.
• Demotech: A (Exceptional), reaffirmed September 22, 2025, according to the company.
• KBRA: BBB, assigned April 27, 2026, according to the company.

See Financial strength ratings: AM Best, S&P, Moody's and Demotech and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac homeowners insurance requirements.

Who it suits

One Alliance North America suits homeowners in Texas, the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, Hawaii, Nevada, Arizona and California whose agent finds it competitive, including landlords and buyers who want equipment breakdown and earthquake coverage from the same carrier. It suits less well buyers who put financial strength first or want a large national claims operation.

• Strengths: sold through local independent agents in nine states; equipment breakdown, earthquake and dwelling fire policies; a Demotech A, an AM Best B and a KBRA BBB rating, any one of which meets Fannie Mae's minimum; AM Best reports a profitable 2025 and new catastrophe-bond reinsurance.
• Weaknesses: AM Best rating of B (Fair) with a negative outlook as of March 2026, after downgrades in 2023 and 2025; a small, storm-exposed book with a history of surplus volatility; no published discount program beyond Florida wind credits; ownership and name changed in 2025.

How to contact One Alliance North America Insurance