SageSure homeowners insurance

Overview

If your declarations page says Occidental Fire & Casualty, Wilshire, SURE or Auros but your bills and emails come from SageSure, this is the company in the middle. SageSure is a managing general underwriter (MGU): it designs the policies, prices and underwrites them, runs customer service and often handles claims, but the insurance risk sits with "carrier partners" whose names appear on the policy. It calls itself the largest residential property MGU in the United States focused on catastrophe-exposed markets, with about $3.2 billion of premium, more than 970,000 policyholders and more than 1,300 employees in 16 states, as of early 2026.

The NAIC counts that business under the carriers, not the MGU. The group profiled here, IAT Reinsurance Company Group, ranked #20 among U.S. homeowners insurance groups by 2025 direct premiums written, with $1.49 billion (0.79% of the national market), according to NAIC market share data. Its homeowners book is written through SageSure: IAT Insurance Group, a privately held specialty insurer based in Raleigh, says its homeowners and dwelling fire products are sold in 14 states through the partnership. The group was the 3rd-largest homeowners writer in Louisiana in 2025 (8.79% of the market), 7th in South Carolina and in Alaska, and 8th in Texas. Other SageSure carriers appear elsewhere in the NAIC tables, including Auros and Interboro.

SageSure sells only through independent agents and brokers who enroll with it. You cannot buy directly.

History

SageSure was founded in 2009, in the wake of the record hurricane seasons that had pushed many insurers off the coast. Co-founder Terrence McLean is president and CEO. Growth has come from adding carrier partners and building new ones:

• Reciprocals. SageSure sponsored three reciprocal exchanges, owned by their policyholders and run by attorneys-in-fact: SureChoice Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange (SURE) in 2021, Elevate in 2022 (sold only through Goosehead agents), and Auros, a Mississippi reciprocal launched in November 2024 with $25 million of starting surplus (see SURE and Elevate). In July 2022 SURE took over more than 14,000 South Carolina homeowners policies from FedNat as that carrier exited the state.
• Capital. In May 2023 SageSure closed a $250 million equity investment led by Amwins and Flexpoint Ford, with Ares Management participating. Its Gateway Re catastrophe bond series has grown to $3.1 billion of outstanding limit across SageSure-supported programs after a $670 million issue in February 2026.
• Acquisitions. On January 2, 2025 it closed its purchase of GeoVera Advantage, GeoVera's MGA and residential earthquake underwriting franchise. GeoVera's carriers and SafePort were combined into GeoVera Nova Holdings as SageSure carrier partners; since April 1, 2026 GeoVera Nova has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Novel Financial Holdings, which also owns the managers of SURE and Elevate (see GeoVera Insurance and SURE and Elevate). On January 2, 2026 it closed the purchase of Gemini Financial and its Olympus subsidiaries in Florida; Valence Insurance Holdings, parent of Auros and Interboro, took Olympus Insurance Company. SageSure says it now manages about 130,000 policies and $700 million of premium in Florida.

Homeowners coverage

What you can buy depends on your state, county and home. SageSure's "Signature" products include HO-3 and HO-5 homeowners, HO-6 condo, DP-3 landlord and manufactured home policies; Wilshire also writes wind-only policies in several Gulf and Atlantic states. An "Expanded Markets" program places harder-to-insure homes with surplus lines carriers. In February 2024 SURE began offering surplus lines homeowners coverage in California; surplus lines policies are not protected by state guaranty funds.

Two underwriting choices stand out. SageSure says it insures homes to 100% of replacement cost rather than the industry's 80% minimum, and it markets replacement cost roof coverage in states where actual cash value roof settlement is common. Expect a percentage named storm deductible on coastal homes; SageSure cites a typical range of 1% to 10% of the dwelling limit. Flood and earthquake coverage are sold separately.

Discounts and savings

SageSure points to wind mitigation credits, smart hazard-detection devices, wildfire mitigation credits in California (which it says can cut the wildfire portion of a premium by 40% to 45%) and higher deductibles. It has also given policyholders free monitoring devices: LeakBot water-leak sensors in New Jersey from 2021 and, since June 2025, Ting electrical-fire sensors for eligible Louisiana policyholders.

Where it sells and recent market moves

Through IAT carriers alone, SageSure writes homeowners or dwelling fire in Alabama (Mobile and Baldwin counties), Alaska (Anchorage, Fairbanks North Star, Juneau, Kenai Peninsula and Matanuska-Susitna boroughs), California, Connecticut, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia. Other partners fill gaps: Interboro writes in New York and coastal South Carolina, Auros in Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, Elevate in Texas, Louisiana and South Carolina.

The practical effect for homeowners is that the carrier behind a SageSure policy can change at renewal as SageSure moves business among partners. Read the renewal declarations page: a switch can change the claims handler, the financial strength rating, and whether the policy is admitted.

Claims

SageSure's claims team takes reports online at MySageSure.com or at 866-311-7243. For policies issued by IAT carriers (Occidental, Wilshire, Harco and TransGuard), SageSure handles service but IAT handles claims; IAT's homeowners claims line is 877-842-0227. For Interboro and the reciprocals, SageSure handles claims itself. Your agent, listed on the declarations page, is the first stop for coverage questions.

Ratings and reputation

Ratings vary by carrier, which is why the name on the policy matters. IAT's companies are rated A- (Excellent) by AM Best; an IAT release posted in February 2025 says AM Best affirmed that rating and revised the outlook to positive. SafePort is rated A (Excellent) by AM Best, as were the GeoVera Nova companies when the GeoVera transactions closed in late 2024 and early 2025. SURE, Auros, Interboro and SafeChoice carry Demotech Financial Stability Ratings of A (Exceptional) rather than AM Best ratings, which most mortgage lenders accept.

Who it suits

SageSure fits owners of coastal, wind-exposed or wildfire-exposed homes who work with an independent agent and have been turned away by national carriers. Its 100% insurance-to-value rule and replacement cost roof option can mean better settlements than some coastal competitors, at a higher premium. It suits less well if you want one recognizable insurer for home and auto, or if you would rather not track which carrier sits behind your policy.

• Strengths: large, specialized catastrophe underwriter with deep reinsurance and cat bond backing; replacement cost roof coverage and full insurance-to-value; admitted options from A- rated IAT carriers and A rated SafePort in many states.
• Weaknesses: sold only through enrolled independent agents; the carrier, rating and claims handler differ by state and can change at renewal; some partners are Demotech-rated rather than AM Best-rated, and some products are surplus lines without guaranty fund protection; coastal policies carry percentage named-storm deductibles.

How to contact SageSure