Privilege Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange (PURE) has reported another year of growth and resilient underwriting performance, underscoring how its reciprocal structure and loss-prevention strategy are operating in a challenging personal lines market.
In its 2025 Report to members, PURE said membership grew to more than 120,000 households across the US and Canada, with retention above 95%. Total premium under management exceeded US$3 billion (all figures are in US dollars), policyholder surplus increased by $171 million, and the carrier delivered a net combined ratio of 98.8% in a year that included its largest-ever catastrophe loss.
“I firmly believe there is no better insurance company to have by your side during a traumatic event than PURE,” said Martin Leitch, chief executive officer of PURE Insurance. “That belief reflects the work of our people and a model that aligns our interests with our members—we work to earn it in how we show up with exceptional service before, during and after a loss.”
PURE’s reciprocal structure remains a key differentiator in the high-net-worth (HNW) personal lines space. Policyholders are “subscribers” to the exchange, and part of their premium is treated as a surplus contribution that builds policyholder capital, reducing the need for outside equity and, in theory, supporting more stable pricing over time.
When underwriting and investment performance are strong, PURE can allocate a portion of surplus growth back to members via individual Subscriber Savings Accounts (SSAs). Based on its 2025 results, the insurer plans to allocate $50 million to SSA, bringing total allocations since inception to nearly $170 million.
Under the subscribers’ agreement, members generally become “senior members” after 10 years of continuous membership and can begin to access their SSA balances when they leave the exchange, subject to certain conditions. For brokers and advisers, that mechanism is a tangible capital-return feature that can help differentiate PURE from stock carriers and mutuals when discussing long-term value with HNW clients.
PURE continues to carry an A (Excellent) financial strength rating from AM Best, supported by what the rating agency has described as a conservative investment portfolio of short-duration, high-quality fixed income assets and access to the balance sheet of Tokio Marine Holdings, which acquired a majority stake in PURE’s management company in 2019.
The report also placed emphasis on PURE’s response to California wildfires, including an early 2025 event that produced the largest catastrophe loss in the company’s history.
According to PURE, teams were mobilized within hours, proactively contacting members, securing temporary housing, and arranging immediate financial support. Among affected members who responded to a survey, 97% rated their claims experience five out of five, and nearly $300 million in claims were paid within the first 24 days.
That experience mirrors a broader trend across US property/casualty in 2025. While industry underwriting results have been among the strongest in a decade, driven by prior rate action and relatively benign catastrophe activity overall, regional events such as California wildfires have still produced sizable loss spikes for carriers with concentrated exposures.
PURE’s ability to keep its net combined ratio just below 100% in a year with a record catastrophe loss is likely to be closely watched by brokers and reinsurers, particularly given the concentration of HNW coastal and wildfire-exposed risks on its book.
In 2025, the company provided tailored loss-prevention guidance to owners of more than 25,000 homes, helping identify and mitigate risks before they resulted in claims.
The insurer is also piloting and expanding programs to make it easier for members to implement recommendations, such as water-leak detection, wildfire defensible space and roof upgrades.
The focus on prevention and service is increasingly important in a segment where competition remains intense. Chubb, AIG's Private Client Select and Cincinnati's high-value home unit are all vying for affulent homeowners, while independent reviews regularly highlight PURE as a specialist option for high-value homes alongside these larger brands.
At the same time, the wider US personal lines market has swung back into profit after several difficult years. Fitch, AM Best, and others have pointed to a marked improvement in combined ratios in 2024–2025 as homeowners and personal auto rate increases earned through, even as they warn that claims costs remain under pressure from inflation, repair costs, and climate-driven catastrophe risk. Carriers, they argue, cannot rely on pricing alone to sustain margins.
As risk profiles evolve, PURE is broadening coverage in areas such as flood and cyber and investing in technology to improve underwriting and claims efficiency, while stressing that automation is intended to augment rather than replace human service.
Internationally, PURE has been building on its first foray outside the US with its Canadian branch. The insurer opened a Toronto office in 2024 to offer high-value home insurance to Ontario residents and has been rolling out Ontario auto, with a view to expanding to other provinces. That move takes PURE directly into competition with established Canadian HNW carriers and adds another specialist option for brokers serving affluent clients in markets such as Toronto and Muskoka.
Looking ahead, the company said it entered 2026 - its 20th anniversary year - with surplus at an all-time high, an A (Excellent) AM Best rating, and a stated commitment to disciplined underwriting.
