QBE Insurance Corp. plans to exit the US home insurance market, with 37,000 policyholders in California among those initially affected. A proposed agreement with an out-of-state insurer could allow many of those customers to maintain coverage.
In a recent filing with the California Department of Insurance, QBE said it stopped writing new homeowners' policies in the state last month in preparation for its withdrawal. As of April, the insurer covered 37,774 California homes. Customers are expected to be dropped over the next year as part of what the company described as an effort to narrow its market focus.
QBE wrote in its filing that Builders Reciprocal Insurance Exchange, a Texas-based insurer seeking regulatory approval to enter California, may take on most of QBE’s customers.
While QBE accounted for just 0.36% of the state’s home insurance market in 2024, its departure adds to a series of withdrawals that have reshaped coverage availability in California. Major insurers including State Farm and Allstate have already scaled back or stopped new business in recent years, citing rising wildfire risks, inflation-driven repair costs, and regulatory constraints on pricing.
In April 2024, two subsidiaries of Tokio Marine Holdings, covering 12,556 homes, told regulators they would leave the market and shift focus to commercial insurance. Tokio Marine later announced an arrangement with Mercury Insurance, California’s third-largest home insurer, to take on most of its affected customers.
In June, Crestbrook Insurance Co., a Nationwide subsidiary specializing in high-value homes, began its exit but allowed customers to transition to Acceptance Casualty Insurance Co., a surplus lines carrier not subject to the state’s rate approval process.
Withdrawing from California is a regulated process that requires insurers to give customers 75 days’ notice before nonrenewal. It generally takes a year to complete, as each policy reaches its renewal date. If the governor declares a state of emergency, insurers are barred from nonrenewing affected customers for up to two years.
QBE said in its filing that it will begin issuing nonrenewal notices once Builders Reciprocal Insurance Exchange receives regulatory approval to write homeowners policies in the state.
