QBE North America homeowners insurance

Overview

QBE North America is the North American division of QBE Insurance Group Limited, a Sydney-based underwriter of general insurance and reinsurance risks that has been listed on the Australian Securities Exchange since 1973 and is led by group chief executive Andrew Horton. In the United States QBE is better known to businesses than to homeowners, but it has also carried a sizable homeowners book. NAIC's QBE Insurance Group ranked #59 among U.S. homeowners insurance groups by 2025 direct premiums written, with $400.4 million (0.21% of the national market), according to NAIC market share data.

That book is shrinking. In 2025 QBE Insurance Corp. told California regulators it was leaving the U.S. home insurance market, stopped writing new California homeowners policies in August 2025 and began nonrenewing the rest as they come due. NAIC data show the trend already: QBE's 2025 homeowners premiums earned ($445.7 million) exceeded premiums written, which is what a book in run-off looks like, and its direct loss ratio for the year was 34.7%.

QBE is filed here among program carriers, and that has a practical meaning. Policies issued by a program carrier often reach homeowners through an agency or program administrator, so the name on the quote, the bill or the claims line can differ from the insurer named on the declarations page. Some people first learn which company actually insures them when a nonrenewal notice arrives.

History

QBE Insurance Group's shares have traded on the Australian Securities Exchange since June 1973. Its U.S. homeowners exit was disclosed through a filing by QBE Insurance Corp. with the California Department of Insurance in 2025. The filing describes the move as an effort to "narrow its market focus," and press reports in September 2025 described it as an exit from U.S. home insurance over the following year, not a California-only retreat.

The exit was paired with a possible successor. QBE's filing said Builder Reciprocal Insurance Exchange (BRIE), a Texas-based insurer then seeking approval to write in California, may take on most of QBE's California customers. BRIE is a reciprocal exchange owned by its policyholders, called subscribers, and run by an attorney-in-fact, Builder Risk Management LLC. Its service provider is MSI (Millennial Specialty Insurance), a Bedford, Texas managing general agent that also handles BRIE's claims. BRIE focuses on homes in new and newer-home communities, writes in Texas, and was approved by Florida regulators in May 2026 to write homeowners insurance there, bringing more than $100 million of capital.

Homeowners coverage

A QBE homeowners policy has the familiar structure: dwelling, other structures, personal property, loss of use, liability and medical payments, with the exact terms set by the form and endorsements listed on your declarations page. Because QBE is no longer selling new policies, the practical question is not what QBE covers but how your coverage will change when you move.

If your QBE policy is being replaced by a BRIE offer, compare three things before you accept. First, the form and limits: check the dwelling limit, any extended replacement cost, the deductible and any separate wind and hail deductible. Second, the structure: a reciprocal's subscribers can be asked for contributions, and BRIE says subscribers initially pay a surplus contribution of 10% of the annual premium on top of the premium itself. Third, the rating: BRIE says it carries a launch Demotech Financial Stability Rating of A (Exceptional), which Fannie Mae accepts for the mortgages it buys. Say your QBE premium is $2,400: a BRIE offer at the same premium would carry a $240 surplus contribution in the first year, so the out-of-pocket comparison is $2,640, not $2,400.

Where it sells and recent market moves

QBE is no longer taking new homeowners business. In California, where it held 0.36% of the home insurance market in 2024, QBE insured 37,774 homes as of April 2025. Its filing said nonrenewal notices would start once BRIE received approval to write homeowners policies in California, with policies nonrenewing at their renewal dates over roughly a year. California requires at least 75 days' notice before a nonrenewal. If you live in a ZIP code covered by a wildfire moratorium under Insurance Code section 675.1, an insurer generally cannot nonrenew solely because a wildfire occurred nearby for one year after the emergency declaration, so some QBE policies may run longer.

Outside California, check your renewal paperwork rather than assuming your policy will continue. If you receive a nonrenewal notice on your QBE homeowners policy, use the time between the notice and the expiration date to shop: an independent agent can quote several carriers at once, and in California the California FAIR Plan paired with a difference-in-conditions policy is the fallback when the private market will not write the home. Our guide to what to do after a nonrenewal walks through the steps.

Claims

A nonrenewal does not end QBE's obligations. Losses that happen while the QBE policy is in force are covered under that policy even if you report them after it expires, subject to the policy's reporting conditions and your state's deadlines, so keep the declarations page and policy number. Claims instructions are printed on the declarations page and policy jacket and may route you to the program administrator rather than to QBE directly. For a policy that has moved to BRIE, new claims go to BRIE's claims line at 844-306-0752 or online through MSI.

Ratings and reputation

QBE does not appear in J.D. Power's U.S. Home Insurance Study or U.S. Property Claims Satisfaction Study, which focus on large consumer brands. Its homeowners reputation in 2025 and 2026 is shaped by the exit itself: tens of thousands of California households had to replace coverage at a time when many other insurers were also pulling back in the state. If you are deciding whether to accept a successor policy, the successor's rating matters more than QBE's: BRIE reports a Demotech A (Exceptional) launch rating rather than an AM Best rating.

Who it suits

QBE is not an option for new homeowners business. The profile matters to the households still carrying a QBE homeowners policy, mostly in California and in program business elsewhere, who need to understand why they are being nonrenewed and what the replacement offer involves. Accept a successor offer only after comparing it with at least one other quote.

• Strengths: a large global parent; claims on losses during the policy term remain QBE's responsibility after nonrenewal; a successor carrier, BRIE, was lined up for most California customers.
• Weaknesses: exiting U.S. homeowners insurance, with no new business since 2025; little consumer-facing presence, so policyholders often deal with an intermediary; replacement coverage may come from a newer reciprocal with surplus contributions and a Demotech rather than AM Best rating.

How to contact QBE North America