Vault Insurance homeowners insurance

Overview

Vault Insurance is a high-net-worth personal lines insurer that began in St. Petersburg, Florida, in 2017 and now lists its main office in Tampa. "Vault" is the marketing name for two insurers. Vault Reciprocal Exchange is a Florida-domiciled reciprocal exchange, owned by its policyholders and run by Vault Risk Management Services, LLC as its attorney-in-fact. Vault E&S Insurance Company is an Arkansas-domiciled surplus lines insurer. Vault Holdings, the management company, is majority-owned by the private investment firms Cornell Capital and Hudson Structured Capital Management, which agreed to buy it from Allied World in 2020.

The Vault Holdings Group ranked #79 among U.S. homeowners insurance groups by 2025 direct premiums written, with $239.9 million (0.13% of the national market), according to NAIC market share data. AM Best describes the business as a niche portfolio of high-net-worth clients, primarily homeowners coverage.

Vault says its homeowners product is for homes valued at more than $2 million. It sells only through appointed agents and brokers, and alongside home insurance it writes collections, personal excess liability, auto, yacht and aviation coverage. It competes for the same clients as PURE, Chubb and AIG's Private Client Select.

History

Vault opened in October 2017 with nine employees working out of an Airbnb rental in St. Petersburg. Its co-founders were Scott Carmilani, a former AIG executive who had been chairman and chief executive of Allied World Assurance, and Charles Williamson, who served as CEO in the early years. Allied World was the majority owner and provided capital and operational support, and Hudson Structured Capital Management was a founding investor. In 2019 Vault received approval to write in Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

In November 2020, Cornell Capital and HSCM agreed to buy Vault Holdings from Allied World, which kept an indirect minority interest and agreed to provide reinsurance support; the deal was expected to close in early 2021. The business then hit trouble: AM Best cites volatile underwriting results in 2021 and 2022. In August 2022 AM Best removed the ratings from review with negative implications and affirmed them after capital actions restored risk-adjusted capitalization. Management was rebuilt: Paul Bassaline, a former chief financial officer at Tower Hill and Crum & Forster, became president in October 2023, and Carmilani is now chief executive and executive chairman. Vault has added offices in New York, West Palm Beach, Chicago and Tampa and a commercial lines division.

Homeowners coverage

Vault sells two home policies. Vault Home Complete is its standard high-value homeowners policy. It provides reconstruction cost coverage intended to pay for the high-quality materials and specialty labor a custom home needs, with optional extended replacement cost above the dwelling limit. After a total loss, you can choose between having Vault pay to rebuild or taking a cash settlement for the full cost of the damage, up to the policy limit, with no obligation to rebuild. Sewer and drain backup is covered, homes held in a trust or LLC can be covered, and home systems protection, service line protection and family cyber coverage are available.

Vault Custom is an excess and surplus lines policy for luxury homes with unusual risks, designs or features that standard admitted forms cannot handle. Its highlights include replacement cost on contents with no depreciation and no obligation to replace, an option to raise mold (fungi) coverage up to the policy limit, a $50,000 sublimit for jewelry when contents limits are adequate, defense costs paid in addition to liability limits, and personal injury coverage.

The admitted-versus-surplus-lines distinction matters to you. Vault's own licensing notice says surplus lines carriers' rates and forms are not approved by any regulator and generally do not participate in, or receive protection from, state guaranty funds (see admitted vs surplus lines home insurers: what you give up). If your agent places you with Vault, check the declarations page to see whether the insurer is Vault Reciprocal Exchange or Vault E&S Insurance Company. In California, where the reciprocal is not licensed, Vault coverage comes through the surplus lines company.

Discounts and savings

Vault does not publish a list of premium discounts. In Florida, its reciprocal provides the state-required notice of hurricane loss mitigation discounts: features such as a secured roof deck and protected openings, documented by a qualified wind mitigation inspection, reduce the hurricane-wind portion of the premium. The notice also explains Florida's hurricane deductible choices of $500, 2%, 5% or 10%. Vault's Risk Services team works with policyholders on water, fire, theft and storm risks, and the company describes installing a whole-home water monitoring system for a Texas client whose pipes burst during the 2021 freeze; when the pipes burst again in 2022, the system shut off the water and limited the damage to $3,500.

Where it sells and recent market moves

As of its August 2025 licensing notice, Vault Reciprocal Exchange was an admitted insurer in every state and the District of Columbia except Alabama, California, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, New York and Wisconsin, and Vault E&S was an eligible surplus lines insurer in all 50 states and D.C. Vault says its products are available across the U.S. through its partner network, but availability for a particular home depends on underwriting and on which company is used.

The most important change for homeowners came after the 2021 and 2022 losses. AM Best's November 2025 release says Vault nonrenewed admitted products that did not have technical rate adequacy and leaned more heavily on its excess and surplus offering. If you had an admitted Vault policy that was not renewed in that period, that is the reason, and replacement coverage may have come through Vault Custom or another carrier. AM Best also says the California wildfires significantly hurt Vault's first-quarter 2025 results, though the group was on track for a third straight year of net income.

Claims

Vault takes claims 24 hours a day at 844-388-5677 (1-844-388-LOSS) or by email to [email protected]; international callers can use 727-440-3559. The company says it responds to claim notifications within two hours of first contact on average and pays promptly once damages are agreed. Vault's main line is 844-368-2858; its Vault Concierge service team, which the company says answers around the clock with a live person, handles policy changes and helps you reach an adjuster. Separate numbers handle glass claims, roadside assistance and yacht claims.

Ratings and reputation

On November 18, 2025, AM Best affirmed the A- (Excellent) financial strength rating and "a-" long-term issuer credit rating of Vault Reciprocal Exchange and Vault E&S Insurance Company, and revised the outlooks to stable from negative. AM Best assessed the balance sheet as very strong, with risk-adjusted capitalization at the strongest level, operating performance as adequate and the business profile as limited, and noted that surplus had been supplemented by capital contributions from the parent in earlier years. It credited a strengthened senior management team and the move away from underpriced admitted business for net income in 2023 and 2024.

Who it suits

Vault suits owners of high-value homes, generally $2 million and up, who want a policy with rebuild-quality reconstruction cost, a cash-out option after a total loss and coverage for trusts and LLCs, and who have an agent who places high-net-worth business. Its surplus lines option can help with complex or hard-to-place homes. It suits less well owners of mid-value homes, anyone who wants to buy direct, or anyone who wants guaranty-fund protection behind a surplus lines policy.

• Strengths: A- (Excellent) from AM Best with a stable outlook since November 2025; high-net-worth features such as reconstruction cost, cash settlement on a total loss and trust or LLC coverage; an E&S policy for unusual homes; 24/7 live concierge and a two-hour average claim response.
• Weaknesses: underwriting losses in 2021 and 2022 led to admitted nonrenewals; surplus lines policies lack rate and form approval and guaranty-fund protection; a small, concentrated book that California wildfires hit in 2025; available only through appointed agents.

How to contact Vault Insurance