April 11, 2025
Get Delos Here
Delos, Delos, Get Delos in California Here! Delos is a nonadmitted homeowners insurance property insurance solution for residents of the great state of California. Delos is a Managing General Agency that has partnered with Homesite Insurance Company to offer up property insurance policies.
Delos uses an “industry-leading model, based on proprietary data and cutting-edge AI, [this] allows [them] to safely offer coverage….” in California. They use fire models that have “correctly predicted fire risk in locations that burned.” Hence the insurer is often more comfortable with certain areas that other insurance comopanies shun.
Delos insurance is typically not for all consumers. It is likely a better option for those that can not get property insurance in the regular market.
Details on Delos Insurance:
The Company was founded in 2017. Its CEO and founder Kevin Stein. Another founder is Shanna McIntyre. Among their many advisors are Dave Jones, the State’s former Insurance Commissioner and Professor Andrew Kalman. Andrew is a former aerospace engineer at Stanford.
As previously stated Delos is an MGA in that they assist in the sales, marketing, underwriting, and other functions with the insurance company- which is currently Homesite Insurance Company. It should be noted that it is the Insurance Company Homesite that is responsible for paying out claim dollars in the event of a loss.
What separates out Delos is their deep understanding of wildfires and wildfire behavior. They base underwriting decisions” on rainfall patterns and satellite imagery.” They study “topography and historical wind patterns...” They jest that their “intelligence is based on Python code, not just a zip code.” They have filed for a patent with the US Patent Office.
How to Get Delos:
To get a Delos Quote through Marindependent Insurance Services LLC, clients must either call or email into our office. We will provide a list of all of the informaiton that we require to quote out your property.
Typical information required for a quote include: Owners Names, DOBs, Address for the past five years, Claims Experience, Information on Dogs, Pools, Trampolines, and detailed information about the Property including the address and types and ages of the roof, foundation, electrical, plumbing, heating, and safety systems. [This is not intended to be a complete list.]
To purchase a Delos policy through Marindependent, a client must sign an application/quote and a state mandated D1 form. Brokers that sell Delos property insurance policies must sign a SL2 form. SL2 stands for Surplus Lines 2 form. This is a document that confirms that the broker/agent has received declinations from three admitted insurance companies. The state Mandated D1 is a document that discloses to the insured that they are purchasing a nonadmitted insurance policy and the policy is not ruled and regulated by the California DOI and does Not participate in the state guarantee fund.
More Details About Delos Insurance Policies:
Delos offers HO3 insurance policies for homeowners, landlords, and vacant homes. Subject to underwriting. A specific list of underwriting questions are asked with every delos application. This information includes, Name, Phone Number, Email Address, Address, Length at Address, Occupancy, and numerous other questions.
Given that Delos is so involved in the underwriting of policies its possible to also characterize Delos as not just an Managing General Agency but as a Managing General Underwriter – MGA vs MGU. An MGU typically has more control and authority over who gets an offer and who does not. Only Delos can give you details on this arrangement.
Special Considerations for Delos Coverage Offerings:
A Delos Homesite policy is NOT a typical homeowners insurance product. There are a number of differences and at Marindependent we review these with you – typically over the phone. One of the most signficant differences is that there policies usually have both a regular deductible and a wildfire deductible. The wildfire deductible applies to wildfires and is higher than the regular deductible.
Another key difference, and this is the case with most nonadmitted or surplus lines insurance policies, is that there are surplus lines taxes and other related fees that you will see listed on your proposal. One of these fees is an inspection fee. The premium is subject to a minimum earned premium. Minimum earned premiums are the non refundable portion of the premium.
Based on the age of your home, Delos offers different internal water damage coverage amounts.
Additionally Delos policies have a platinum level program where extremely beneficial endorsements are available. The platinum program contains a 50% extended coverage A amount, among other benefits.
Type of Occupancy that Delos Accepts:
Every risk has its own unique characteristics and there are numerous types or locations of risks that Delos will not take. These are some of the occupancies that Delos will consider.
Delos does consider Owner Occupied Home Insurance policies. These are policies written for someone that both resides in and owns the property. These policies are often called Homeowners Insurance Policies.
Delos does consider Tenant Occupied Insurance Policies. These are policies were a long term tenant resides in a property that someone else owns. Typically rent is involved. These are sometimes called Landlord Insurance Policies.
On Occassion Delos will consider Vacant Insurance Policies. These are policies where No One resides at the property. This is often a temporary situation. There is not common name for these types of policies. We refer to them as Vacancy Policies, but other agencies and insurers have lots of names for them. Perhaps Vacant Occupancy Property Policies are the best name. Vacant Occupancy policies typically have extremely limited coverages available and can often be more expensive than other occupancy coverage forms.
Good News and Press About Delos Insurance:
According to the Insurance Journal ““Delos sees a lot more insurable homes in California than other insurance companies,” Delos CEO Kevin Stein”
According to Risk and Insurance, Kevin Stein says “We leveraged our wildfire science and aerospace engineering expertise to develop a suite of wildfire models that includes a novel geospatial AI algorithm.” And “This algorithm analyzes three-dimensional information…. in a way that understands locality affects.[It] is also able to ingest significantly larger amounts of data than traditional models, so we have over a hundred data layer inputs, many of which are outputs of proprietary sub-tier models.”
According to its own website Delos “was recognized as the MGA/MGU of the year by Inside P&C” in 2022. This “award celebrate the outstanding achievements and exceptional talent from the United States wholesale, specialty, and reinsurance markets”
Insurance Innovation Reporter states that Delos” boasts that it has the best wildfire risk model in the industry”…and that the firm ” focuses on wildfire-stressed areas of the state, even as other underwriters are moving out of the state…” Additionally the “InsurTech MGA writes $40 billion in TIV profitably with above 90 percent renewal rates in the challenging California market,”
A Summary of Delos Insurance in California
If you are having trouble locating property insurance in California – Delos may be the best option available to you. Often Delos has some of the most competitve pricing available on a nonadmitted insurance basis. Delos policies have limitations that are often different than typical home insurance policies. The MGA uses its own special wildfire model to underwrite risk. Delos was founded in San Francisco in 2017.
Related or Unrelated on Delos:
The word Delos, in Greek means “to manifest” or “reveal.” The greek island of Delos is a sacred island where both Artemis and Apollo were thought to have been born. The island is located in the Cyclades archipelago. The island of Delos is part of a World Heritage List. What does any of this have to do with the Insurance MGA Delos – We do not know.
