Best high-value home insurance companies of 2023
Updated on June 27, 2023
Most home insurers cater to the masses. Many have a reasonably good insurance product — but it’s designed to meet the needs of broad market consumers. If you own a high-end residential home, a standard home insurance policy can leave potentially costly gaps in coverage and overlook key coverage details — and many broad market insurers don’t insure homes above a certain value.
Fortunately, there are some fabulous choices in exclusive high value home insurance companies, insurers that cater to upscale home coverage and the special insurance considerations of financially successful families.
Top 6 High Value Home Insurance Carriers
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AIG Private Client
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Chubb Prestige
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Pure High-Value
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Cincinnati Insurance
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NatGen Premier
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Vault Insurance
AIG Private Client
While perhaps best known for life insurance, AIG, now celebrating 100 years of service, is a diverse insurer with specialized products to meet the needs of specific groups. AIG’s Private Client high-value home insurance policy is a great example of the company’s specialized products and is a perfect fit for many affluent households, a comprehensive homeowners policy designed for fine homes.
Focused products bring the ability to insure challenging properties. AIG’s experience and specialized policies enable the insurer to handle complex insurance needs. Where other insurers may not be able to cover the risk properly, AIG’s comprehensive coverage addresses both the larger insurance risks as well as the potentially costly gaps left by other standard policies.
Below are a few of the outstanding policy features available with AIG Private Client:
- Full replacement cost coverage: If your personal property is damaged in a covered claim, AIG can cover your belongings up to their full replacement cost without deductions for depreciation.
- Cash claims settlement: AIG provides the option of cash settlement instead of repair or replacement in covered claims.
- Additional living expenses: In cases where a covered claim forces you from your home while repairs are made, AIG makes coverage available for additional living expenses, like hotels or dining.
- Extended rebuild coverage: Repair and rebuilding costs can be impacted by changing expenses or by the availability of the specific materials needed to match your home’s exceptional build quality. AIG can provide coverage above your policy’s limit when needed, ensuring that your home is returned to its original splendor.
Chubb Prestige Home & Contents
Your fine home is a masterpiece and Chubb’s Masterpiece policy provides coverage worthy of the name — and worthy of your fine home. Designed specifically for high-value homes and high-net-worth families, the Masterpiece policy provides superior coverage for fine homes and pays extra attention to details others may miss.
Known for exceptional claims service, Chubb prides itself on its swift, yet thorough, response to claims and provides prompt payment after claim settlement.
Standard home insurance policies can leave gaps in coverage that may not be immediately apparent — until you have a claim. The Masterpiece policy addresses these gaps and, in some cases, provides more coverage than your policy limit.
Expect more with Chubb, all included with your Masterpiece policy:
- Extended replacement cost coverage: Determining the exact replacement cost of repairing or rebuilding your home after a loss can be challenging. Availability of materials and newer building codes can add to the expense, leading to cost overruns that exceed your coverage limit. Chubb answers this concern by providing coverage above the limit of your policy when needed.
- Cash settlement option: A total loss is devastating to any household. Following a total loss, Chubb gives you the option of a cash settlement, up to the limits of your policy. Rebuild elsewhere if you choose — or don’t rebuild at all and use the funds as you see fit; the choice is yours.
- Replacement cost coverage: Many home insurance policies split coverage, insuring your home to a strict rebuild value and insuring your belongings based on actual cash value, which means many of your belongings may be underinsured. Chubb answers this coverage disparity by providing coverage for the full cost of replacing your belongings.
- HomeScan: As a unique offering, Chubb’s HomeScan can reveal leaks, missing insulation, and even faulty electrical connections hidden behind walls, helping to prevent a loss before it can damage your home — and it’s included with your policy.
Pure High-Value Homeowners Insurance
A relative newcomer to the high-value home insurance market, Pure was founded by high-value industry experts and has grown at over 30% per year as an increasing number of affluent households discover the insurer’s unique value proposition. Where many insurers answer to the whims of Wall Street, Pure is member-owned, putting the focus back on your coverage needs and your continuing financial well-being.
Expect more with Pure:
- Cash settlement option: As with some other high-value home insurers, Pure gives you the option to repair, rebuild, or receive a cash settlement after a covered loss. Insurance should provide coverage for your loss, without all the restrictions commonly found with many other insurers.
- Extended jewelry protection: Jewelry coverage is a common concern and it may not always be practical to specifically insure every item of jewelry in your home. Expect coverage for up to $50,000 for jewelry that’s lost, stolen, or misplaced.
- Drain backup coverage: You might think coverage for drain and sewer overflows is covered by your home insurance policy, but that’s not always the case. With Pure, this potentially costly coverage gap is remedied, giving you added security against a common risk to homes.
- Guaranteed replacement cost coverage: Estimating a cost to rebuild is a thorough process, but it’s nearly impossible to estimate costs exactly, particularly as building codes, labor costs, and costs of materials are constantly changing. Pure has you covered, however, even if your coverage limit is exceeded when rebuilding your home.
Cincinnati Insurance
With nearly 70 years of experience, Cincinnati Insurance has become one of the nation’s leading insurers for high-value homes, earning an A+ Superior rating with A.M. Best, which ranks the company in an elite group in regard to financial strength.
Cincinnati protects the assets of high-net-worth households with its premium home insurance product, the Executive Capstone Policy, which addresses the complex needs of clients with homes starting at $1,000,000. Cincinnati’s Executive Classic program, a step-level policy, also provides coverage for homes with values beginning at $500,000.
Expect a generous offering of policy options that promise more comprehensive coverage for your fine home and your valuable belongings, as well as many extras not commonly found with other insurers.
- Preferred primary flood: Cincinnati insurance offers a flood insurance solution that provides coverage up to the coverage limit of your home, an amount often vastly larger than the lesser coverage provided by a National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policy. With Cincinnati, there’s no need to accept a partial coverage solution for flood risks.
- Large loss deductible: If you have a home insurance claim with some other insurers, you may learn the hard way that multiple deductibles can apply, significantly reducing your coverage and shifting much of the coverage burden back to the homeowner. Cincinnati insurance addresses this coverage gap by combining deductibles if the damage results from the same loss occurrence.
- Service lines coverage: Many home insurance policies stop coverage at the walls of your home for utility lines, water supply lines, gas lines, and communications lines. The cost to repair many of these service lines can be staggering. Cincinnati’s Executive Capstone program allows you to add coverage for service lines necessary to make your home livable and productive.
As you would expect, claim service for both the Executive Capstone program and the Executive Classic program is exemplary, providing white-glove service from an initial loss to claim settlement. Of course, if a covered claim forces you to leave your home temporarily while your home is being repaired or rebuilt to its original beauty, Cincinnati Insurance helps cover the cost of additional living expenses as well.
National General: NatGen Premier
The Premier Client Homeowners program from NatGen Premier provides coverage for homes up to $10 million dollars in value, as well as coverage for your valuables and household belongings. Since 1920, National General has been protecting the assets of American households and offering customizable specialty insurance products, like its highly regarded Premier Client Homeowners program.
One size doesn’t fit all with NatGen Premier; expect sensible coverage solutions as built-in policy features, with optional features that make your home insurance policy as distinctive as your fine home itself.
- Guaranteed replacement cost: Cost overruns when rebuilding after a covered loss can create unexpected financial exposure. NatGen Premier can provide coverage to rebuild your home to its original pristine beauty — even if the cost of rebuilding exceeds your policy’s coverage limits.
- Contents replacement cost: Most homeowners insurance policies depreciate the insured value for much of your home’s contents. This structure can create a costly gap between your claim settlement amount and the amount it will cost to repair or replace your belongings. NatGen understands the financial risk to affluent homeowners and covers the cost to fully repair or replace your home’s contents without adjusting for depreciation.
- Ordinance and law coverage: While Ordinance and law risks are non-covered exclusions with many other home insurers, NatGen Premier offers built-in coverage for the additional costs associated with rebuilding when local ordinances or new building codes add to the cost of rebuilding your home after a covered claim.
Optionally, NatGen Premier also provides coverage for service lines to your home, like underground pipes and electrical lines, as well as equipment breakdown coverage, which provides coverage for your entire home system, including heating and cooling systems, water and power systems, and even appliances and electronics.
VAULT Insurance
Founded in 2016 by industry veterans of leading high-value insurers like AIG, Vault offers a refined vision and innovative ways to protect the success you’ve achieved. Backed by a $100 billion initial investment, Vault began writing coverage for luxury homes in Florida, quickly expanding to other exclusive areas along the east coast. Now, Vault offers insurance coverage in nearly 20 states, spanning much of the eastern seaboard and reaching western points in Colorado and Texas.
Where many insurers service a broad book of business, Vault focuses on the unique coverage needs of high-net-worth individuals and affluent households. High-net-worth households have more to protect. Vault answers this need with customizable coverage and a suite of extras that many typical insurers don’t provide at any cost.
Coverage options make Vault a solid choice when protecting your home, but claims clearance is where insurance providers earn their reputation and build loyalty with their clients. With an average claim response time of less than 1 hour and initial claims payment within 48 hours, it’s clear Vault makes each client a priority.
Final thoughts
Your fine home is more than just the materials used to build it; it’s an expression of who you are as an individual or as a family. A standard home insurance policy — even a policy with a higher coverage limit — isn’t designed to fully cover the unique financial risks associated with high-value homes. These five insurers have proven their commitment to properly insuring fine homes and high-net-worth households.
It’s time for a more comprehensive approach to protecting your home and your assets. Just reach out to our experienced agents with any questions or to get started with your home insurance coverage quote.
Luxury Home Insurance FAQ’s
What is high value home insurance?
Homes with a rebuild value of $1 million or more qualify for coverage with select insurers that offer high value home insurance designed to specifically for the unique needs of high net worth households. With a high value home insurance package, you will find expansive policy options and coverage limits that can fully protect your home, valuables, and liability concerns.
Standard home insurance policies address common coverage needs for average homes. However, traditional homeowners insurance policies can leave potentially costly coverage gaps due to both narrow policy language and lower coverage limits. A well-crafted high-value insurance package protects your unique lifestyle, while also giving you the freedom to build your policy to protect what is most important to you.
Related: High Net Worth Companies
What does high-value home insurance cover?
Most home insurance policies have a similar structure and offer a similar level of coverage for your home and belongings. A high value home insurance policy offers many key differences beyond what you would find with a standard home insurance policy.
Perhaps the most critical difference is called Guaranteed Replacement Cost. A high value home insurance policy comes with a guarantee to completely rebuild your home in the event of a total loss, even if the cost to rebuild exceeds your policy limit. In that same total loss scenario, the standard home insurance policy, will only pay up to your policy limit.
Another key difference is called the Cash Settlement Option. In the event of a total loss, the high value home insurance policy offers your family the flexibility to take a cash settlement at FULL replacement cost if you did not wish to rebuild your home.
A deductible waiver is another feature of high value home insurance policy. This waives your deductible if you have a claim that is over $50,000 dollars. Combining this deductible waiver with a high deductible is sound approach to lowering your premium.
Other differences in coverage include Broader Liability Coverage to include defamation, libel, or slander. Also, with a high value home insurance policy, you can customize coverage limits to fit your needs. Insurance premiums are based on a per thousand rates, so where you can remove or reduce coverage, you will save. With a high value home insurance policy, you can customize these coverage limits down to your individual need, potentially saving you thousands of dollars.
High value home insurance cost?
Insurance rates for luxury homes can vary widely across the nation. Across the U.S., homeowners insurance rates can range between $0.30 per $1000 of insured value all the way up to $9.50 per $1000. Home insurance on Long Island, New York, for example, usually costs about $0.18 to $0.21 per $100 of insured value.
As an example, let’s use a $2 million home and assume $1.80 per $1000 of coverage. The home itself would be insured for $4 million, the other structures would have an insured value of $800,000, and your personal property would be insured for up to $2 million. Your total insured value for your home is now $6.8 million, giving you an estimated insurance cost of $12,240 per year.
The best way to find the true cost of insuring your high-value home is to reach out for a personalized quote.
How do I know if I need high-value home insurance?
If your home is valued over one million dollars, we recommended speaking with our team of state-licensed insurance advisors to learn more about custom high value home insurance packages.
With Coastal Insurance Solutions, our team of advisors will partner with you to tailor a package to your unique needs and compare quotes from the finest high value insures like Chubb Insurance, PURE Insurance, Cincinnati Insurance, AIG Private Client, Openly & Vault Insurance.
Related: High Value Insurance vs Standard Home insurance
Should I Consider a High-Value Home Insurance Policy?
High value home insurance isn’t a stand-alone insurance product; instead, it’s a package of customized insurance policies tailored to homeowners that expect the quality of their insurance to match the quality of their home. This package of policies, including extra services and expanded coverage, is typically only available for homes with an estimated rebuild cost exceeding $1,000,000. In addition to concierge service, a homeowner can expect expanded coverage limits and greater flexibility with a packaged high value home insurance policy.
What’s included in high-value homeowners insurance?
High value home insurance offers several key differences that set it apart over standard home insurance products such as: Additional & Enhanced coverages, Guaranteed Replacement, Concierge-level Service, Deductible Waiver, and Flexible Rebuilding Options.
Who insures high-value homes?
- AIG Private Client– AIG believes that true trust comes from true partnerships. In collaboration with Coastal Insurance Solutions, AIG Private Client Group can address complex risks that come with wealth and proactively identify problems before they become disasters.
- Chubb Insurance– Chubb is a premium insurer that specializes in serving successful families and individuals. With over a hundred years of experience in 50+ countries around the world, Chubb is a household name among high net worth families.
- Pure Insurance -. If you own a home with a rebuild value over $1,000,000 and other high value assets, PURE membership might be right for you. PURE uses what’s called a reciprocal model, where the insurance company is owned by its policyholders. The goal of this model is to maximize policyholder satisfaction and incentivize fair premiums.
- Cincinnati – Designed to provide peace of mind to high value homeowners by protecting their lifestyle, home, and asset, Coastal and Cincinnati can tailor an insurance program to protect everything from your home and its distinctive features, valuables and collections to autos and watercraft with a wide range of coverage options.
- NatGen – A NatGen Premier homeowners policy surrounds your home, belongings, liability, and well-being with protection. NatGen Premier not only covers a house and its contents, but also help you maintain your lifestyle throughout your claims experience.
- Vault – VAULT is a company built specifically for high value homeowners through a partnership known as a ‘reciprocal insurance exchange’. This structure brings together an exclusive, responsible group of high net worth families with similar lifestyles to allow for preferred pricing structures and sustained premiums over time.
Independent Agents vs. Captive Agents
The main difference is that captive agents work exclusively for one insurance company and can only offer policies from that company while independent agents work with multiple insurance companies. Independent agents do not have any exclusive ties to a particular company and can shop around for the best policy for their customers. Independent agents also have access to a wider range of insurance options that include custom products specifically designed for high value homes within the high-net-worth insurance segment.
Both independent and captive agents can write insurance for high-value homes but the outcome in price and coverage can be vastly different. The independent agent is usually a better choice for high-net-worth individuals because they can choose from more than one company to offer a quote from. One step further, you’ll want to choose an independent agent that has direct appointments from all 7 of top high value home insurance providers. Finally, you’ll want to make sure that the independent agent has a team of experienced advisors that are dedicated to HNW clients and work closely with HNW insurance companies daily—then you’ll know you found the right agency.
Related: Luxury Home Insurance – How to Find the Right Policy
Top features of high value home insurance
- Flexible rebuilding options – Both a standard home insurance policy and a high-value home insurance policy provide coverage to rebuild your home after a loss. Only a high-value home insurance policy offers a cash settlement option that can pay you (cash) for the cost to rebuild without penalty.
- Guaranteed Home Replacement Cost – One advantage a high-value home insurance policy is that it offers a guaranteed replacement cost (often referred to as a home replacement guarantee) for your dwelling. With guaranteed replacement cost, your policy can pay the total rebuild cost of your home even if the cost of rebuilding exceeds your coverage limit.
- Jewelry Coverage Included in Your Homeowners Policy – Most high value home insurance policies include increased internal limits for jewelry. However, these limits may be insufficient for individuals even a small jewelry collection and therefore most opt to purchase a separate insurance policy specifically for the collection.
- Broad Coverage for Sewer and Drain Backups – If a sewer backs up and causes your drains (whether inside or outside of your home) or toilets to overflow, your high value home insurance policy would cover the cost of clean-up and replace or rebuild damaged property, up to the limit on your policy.
- Flexible Deductible Options & Waiver of Deductible – A high-value home insurance policy offers a unique option that can waive your deductible for losses above a certain amount. Most commonly, high-value insurers offer deductible waivers for covered losses of over $50,000.
- Coverage to Help You Prevent a Similar Loss – High Value insurers offer an array of risk mitigation tools and support to help you protect your home and prevent future loss. As an example, a home that has sustained a lightning strike may be eligible for a lightning rod to be installed after.
If your home is valued over $1 million dollars, we recommended speaking with our team of state-licensed insurance advisors to learn more about custom high value home insurance packages. With Coastal Insurance Solutions, our team of advisors will partner with you to tailor a package to your unique needs and compare quotes from the finest high value home insurance companies.
