PURE Insurance homeowners insurance

Overview

PURE Insurance is the trade name of Privilege Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange, a reciprocal exchange that insures high-value homes, cars, jewelry and art, personal liability and other exposures for wealthy families. A reciprocal is owned by its policyholders, whom PURE calls members, and run by an attorney-in-fact for a fee. PURE's attorney-in-fact belongs to Privilege Underwriters, Inc., which Japan's Tokio Marine Holdings bought in 2020. That is why PURE's premiums are reported inside Tokio Marine Holdings Inc. Group, which ranked #14 among U.S. homeowners insurance groups by 2025 direct premiums written, with $1.95 billion (1.03% of the national market), according to NAIC market share data.

The NAIC group figure is mostly PURE but not only PURE. It also includes Tokio Marine's other U.S. home writers, among them First Insurance Company of Hawaii, which helps explain why the group was the 2nd-largest homeowners insurer in Hawaii in 2025 ($102.7 million, 15.92%). Elsewhere the group ranked 7th in New York ($281.2 million), 8th in Wyoming and 10th in the District of Columbia, all markets with many high-value homes.

PURE sells only through independent brokers. By its own account it had more than 100,000 members in 2024, grew direct written premiums 16% to $2.4 billion that year across all lines, and kept 95.7% of its members.

History

Ross Buchmueller and two co-founders started PURE in 2006 to bring a member-owned model to the high-net-worth market, where it competes with Chubb and other private-client carriers. Its managed premiums grew at least 15% a year for more than 15 consecutive years, and by 2019 the PURE Group had more than $1 billion of premium in force, about 800 employees and business in 49 states and the District of Columbia.

In October 2019 Tokio Marine agreed to buy Privilege Underwriters, Inc. from investors led by Stone Point Capital and KKR; the deal closed on February 10, 2020 through Tokio Marine's U.S. subsidiary HCC Insurance Holdings. Tokio Marine bought the management and service companies (PURE Risk Management, the attorney-in-fact; PURE Insurance Company, a Florida-domiciled stock insurer; PURE Programs; and Haven Art Group), not the exchange itself, which remains owned by its members.

PURE Programs, a managing general underwriter the group introduced in January 2017, writes surplus lines coverage for homes PURE's admitted exchange will not take, with partner carriers such as Trisura Specialty and R&Q Accredited America. In 2022 the group added its own surplus lines reciprocal, PURE Specialty Exchange, domiciled in Arizona. Buchmueller handed the chief executive role to Martin Leitch on July 1, 2023, and PURE opened in Ontario, Canada, in September 2024, its first market outside the United States.

Homeowners coverage

PURE writes homeowners coverage for primary and secondary high-value homes, condos and co-ops, along with auto, collections, watercraft, personal excess liability, flood and fraud and cyber fraud coverage. Membership typically starts with a PURE360 home risk assessment. One feature stands out: PURE says its homeowners policy automatically includes coverage for water that backs up into a basement during heavy rain, which many insurers sell only as an optional water backup endorsement. PURE also sells flood coverage under the PURE Flood Solutions name, which matters because no homeowners policy covers flood.

Homes that do not fit PURE's admitted appetite (coastal homes, short-term rentals, homes under construction, prior losses or unusual construction) can be placed through PURE Programs or PURE Specialty Exchange as surplus lines coverage, with home limits up to $75 million in many states and earthquake endorsements in some. In Florida, PURE Programs offers an "X-Wind" policy that leaves out windstorm, for owners who buy wind elsewhere, with roof-age limits of 20 years for asphalt shingle and 30 years for metal. Surplus lines policies are not covered by state guaranty funds in most states, and PURE Programs notes its policies may not carry the member benefits of the reciprocal.

Discounts and savings

PURE's published materials emphasize the reciprocal model and loss prevention rather than individual discounts. Underwriting gains may be credited to members' Subscriber Savings Accounts. PURE also supplies loss-prevention technology to eligible members: Ting electrical-fire sensors (more than 30,000 installed by 2025), LeakBot and Flume water sensors, and a "Watertight Home Check." PURE reported that its 2024 claim count fell more than 10%, with home fire losses down 37% and water claims down 24%.

Where it sells and recent market moves

PURE says it offers coverage in all 50 states and, since 2024, in Ontario. Its surplus lines arm writes high-value homeowners policies in 20 states, from Alabama and California to Texas and Wyoming, and added Connecticut and Rhode Island in July 2025.

California is the state to watch. On July 23, 2026 the California Department of Insurance said "PURE plans to expand its homeowners business in California" and would target high-value homes now insured in the non-admitted market or through the California FAIR Plan. Ask a broker whether PURE's admitted exchange is open for your ZIP code, since appetite for wildfire and coastal areas changes.

Claims

Report a claim through your broker or by calling 888-813-7873. PURE uses in-house adjusters, and on larger losses a PURE Member Advocate handles logistics such as temporary housing, scheduling repairs and dealing with third parties. PURE Programs says eligible customers can receive a Loss Prevention Benefit of up to $2,500 to keep a similar loss from recurring, for example a water shut-off device after a leak. PURE reported a 91% claims satisfaction score for 2024.

Ratings and reputation

AM Best affirmed PURE's financial strength rating of A (Excellent) and its long-term issuer credit rating of "a+" in June 2024, and PURE still cited the A rating in December 2025. PURE Specialty Exchange is also rated A (Excellent) by AM Best. PURE reported a 100% net combined ratio for 2024, meaning underwriting roughly broke even.

Trade publications Private Asset Management and Family Wealth Report have repeatedly named PURE their best high-net-worth insurer.

Who it suits

PURE is built for owners of expensive, well-kept homes, usually alongside cars, art, jewelry and an umbrella policy, who use an independent broker and want a carrier focused on preventing losses. It is a poor fit for a typical suburban home, for buyers who want to deal directly with an insurer, or for homes with risk factors PURE screens out, which then end up in the surplus lines arm.

• Strengths: Member-owned model with Subscriber Savings Accounts; water backup included in the base homeowners policy; Member Advocates and funded loss prevention; AM Best A (Excellent) with Tokio Marine ownership of the management company.
• Weaknesses: Sold only through brokers; selective underwriting, with hard-to-place homes shifted to surplus lines policies that lack guaranty fund protection and member benefits; 100% combined ratio in 2024.

How to contact PURE Insurance