Stillwater Insurance Group homeowners insurance

Overview

Stillwater Insurance Group is a Jacksonville, Florida personal-lines insurer made up of two carriers, Stillwater Insurance Company and Stillwater Property and Casualty Insurance Company, plus an affiliated agency, Stillwater Insurance Services. It writes homeowners, condo, renters, landlord, auto, umbrella and small-business coverage, and homeowners is the core: about 71% of Stillwater Insurance Company's 2025 direct premium, according to KBRA. The NAIC group, WT Holdings Group, ranked #63 among U.S. homeowners insurance groups by 2025 direct premiums written, with $344.2 million (0.18% of the national market), according to NAIC market share data.

Many Stillwater customers never chose the name. More than 90% of its traditional personal lines business comes through independent agencies and brokers (over 3,500 of them), and it also writes for national partners: Progressive lists Stillwater among the carriers behind its homeowners program, and a 2023 KTVU report described a Bay Area homeowner whose GEICO-arranged policy was written by Stillwater. If your declarations page says Stillwater, that company, not the brand you bought through, pays your claims.

Its biggest market is California. California made up about 48% of Stillwater Insurance Company's 2025 direct premium, which explains both its exposure to the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires and its recent financial strain.

History

Stillwater began in 2000 as Fidelity National Property and Casualty Insurance Group, the property-casualty arm of title insurer Fidelity National Financial (FNF), under Mark Davey, who had been an executive at Pacific Specialty Insurance. The carrier now called Stillwater Insurance Company was incorporated in California as Anza Insurance Company on April 26, 1990, and was renamed Fidelity National Insurance Company in June 2001. In 2003 the group took over the Omaha Property and Casualty book of business, which is why it still has an Omaha office.

After the 2005 hurricanes, FNF decided to leave property-casualty insurance. On May 1, 2012, an investor group organized by Davey bought 85% of FNF's P&C operations (another investor group bought FNF's flood operations), and the remaining 15% was bought on June 16, 2016. The carriers took the Stillwater name on October 1, 2013. Ownership runs through Duval Holdings to WT Holdings, Inc., a Tennessee company; California approved William E. and Susan B. Haslam as its ultimate controlling persons in December 2020. On August 1, 2021, Tri-State Consumer Insurance was merged into Stillwater Property and Casualty.

Then came the losses. Stillwater Insurance Company lost $110 million on underwriting in 2022 alone, and its risk-based capital fell to 284% of the regulatory control level, low enough, together with a 123.9% combined ratio, to trigger a Company Action Level event under California law. The owners put in $62.5 million of capital in 2023, and the company filed a corrective plan with the California Department of Insurance.

Homeowners coverage

The homeowners policy carries the standard coverages, from the dwelling through medical payments to others. Stillwater promotes extended replacement cost, which raises the dwelling limit when rebuilding costs spike after a catastrophe, and replacement cost on personal property instead of actual cash value. Its optional coverages include water backup, scheduled personal property for jewelry and similar items, special personal property (broader coverage for belongings), identity theft expense recoupment, animal liability and personal injury coverage. Condo policies can add earthquake coverage; in California, homeowners earthquake coverage is usually bought separately (see earthquake insurance explained). Stillwater also sells landlord (dwelling fire) and renters policies.

The details depend on the state form and on any partner program you bought through. AM Best said in April 2025 that management had raised deductibles as part of its turnaround, so check the all-perils and wind or wildfire deductibles on your renewal rather than assuming they match last year's.

Discounts and savings

Stillwater's homeowners page lists discounts for an accredited builder, age of the insured, automatic sprinklers, claim-free history, gated communities, home alarms, marital status, multi-policy bundles, a newly acquired home, roof type and utility upgrades, with availability varying by state. Its site also states that wildfire mitigation by a community or an individual owner does not currently affect eligibility or earn a premium discount for existing policyholders, which matters for California owners who have hardened their homes; insurers that do give mitigation credits may price a hardened home differently.

Where it sells and recent market moves

The company's agent product-availability tool shows homeowners coverage in 47 states and Washington, D.C., with Georgia and Michigan the exceptions, and both carriers are licensed in all 50 states. The premium is concentrated: in 2022 California was 42.5% of Stillwater Insurance Company's direct premium and Arizona 12.7%, and by 2025 California had grown to about 48%.

Since 2023 Stillwater has been repairing results. KBRA reported in August 2024 that it had stopped writing new auto business nationwide until that line was profitable, and AM Best's April 2025 release cited several rate actions, higher deductibles and a smaller footprint in catastrophe-prone areas. For policyholders, rate actions and a smaller footprint in high-risk areas translate into higher renewal premiums and, in some places, nonrenewals; the 2023 KTVU case involved a nonrenewal over overhanging branches and an inaccessible backyard. If you receive one, see your home insurance was nonrenewed: what to do now. The January 2025 Eaton and Palisades fires cost Stillwater about $105.6 million in gross losses, largely absorbed by reinsurance; total gross catastrophe losses for 2025 were about $122.7 million.

Claims

Claims can be reported 24 hours a day by phone at 800-220-1351, by email to [email protected], by logging in to your Stillwater account and choosing "File a claim," or through the mobile app. A Stillwater claim examiner handles the file. If you bought through a partner such as Progressive or GEICO, the claim is still handled by Stillwater, the insurer named on your declarations page. After a California wildfire total loss, state law (SB 495, effective January 1, 2026) requires insurers to pay 60% of the contents limit, up to $350,000, without an itemized inventory; What the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires taught homeowners covers what slowed claims after the 2025 fires.

Ratings and reputation

Stillwater carries three ratings, all dated. AM Best downgraded Stillwater Insurance Company and Stillwater Property and Casualty to B++ (Good) from A- (Excellent) on April 16, 2025, with a stable outlook on the financial strength rating and a negative outlook on the issuer credit rating, citing continued underwriting losses since 2022 from fire, weather, inflation and supply chain costs. AM Best had kept the A- under review with negative implications from early 2023 until March 2024, when it affirmed the rating with a negative outlook.

KBRA cut both carriers to BBB+ from A- on August 21, 2023, moved the outlook to stable in August 2025, and affirmed BBB+ (stable) on August 18, 2026. KBRA reported Stillwater Insurance Company's combined ratio improving from 116.7% in 2024 to 107.6% in 2025 and 92.5% in the first half of 2026, and surplus rising to about $246.0 million at June 30, 2026, but it also noted $27.9 million of adverse reserve development in 2025, the fourth straight year. Demotech affirmed Stillwater Insurance Company's Financial Stability Rating of A (Exceptional) on September 14, 2026. Stillwater was not ranked in J.D. Power's 2025 or 2026 home insurance studies.

Who it suits

Stillwater suits homeowners who are offered it by an independent agent or a national partner and want broad optional coverage, particularly in California, where it remains a sizable writer. It suits less well a buyer whose lender or own preference calls for an A-range AM Best rating, or anyone who wants a carrier with a quiet recent record.

• Strengths: available in most states through thousands of agents and big partner programs; extended replacement cost and contents replacement cost options; improving results in 2025–2026 with a stable KBRA outlook; Demotech A (Exceptional) affirmed September 2026.
• Weaknesses: AM Best B++ since April 2025; four straight years of adverse reserve development; heavy California concentration and wildfire exposure; no premium credit for wildfire mitigation, by the company's own statement.

How to contact Stillwater Insurance Group