Aegis Insurance for Vacant Homes in California: Aegis General's Dwelling Fire and DIC Programs

Aegis General Insurance Agency is a California-licensed program administrator (CA license 0I66850) and part of K2 Insurance Services.^[1] Its Specialty division writes homeowners, dwelling fire, residential DIC and stand-alone earthquake coverage in California, and it has long described its dwelling fire program as open to "seasonal (secondary), tenant, vacation rental and vacant homes."^[1][2] So yes, Aegis can quote an empty California house. Aegis is not the insurer, though. Its admitted California programs are backed by DB Insurance Co., Ltd. (U.S. Branch), and since March 2025 it also has surplus lines capacity from Lloyd's through Hiscox.^[3][9]

This guide is for a California owner whose house is empty: between tenants, inherited and in probate, listed for sale, or waiting on a remodel. It covers which Aegis program an empty house can land in, who pays a claim, what older Aegis guidelines said about vandalism and theft on vacant homes, and how to get a quote. Menlo Insurance Services can submit to Aegis. To start, open our vacant home insurance page.

Why Can't You Keep a Normal Policy on an Empty House?

Because California's standard fire policy stops working after 60 days of vacancy. Insurance Code section 2071, which sets the terms every California fire policy is built on, says the insurer "shall not be liable for loss occurring" while a described building "is vacant or unoccupied beyond a period of 60 consecutive days," unless the policy provides otherwise in writing.^[12] Homeowners and dwelling forms often go further and drop vandalism coverage after the same stretch.

That is why an empty house needs a policy written for vacancy. The owner tells the insurer up front that nobody lives there, the insurer prices for it, and the vacancy clause no longer voids the coverage you are paying for.

What Is Aegis General Insurance Agency?

Aegis General calls itself "a full-service program administrator with a wide array of unique brands."^[1] A program administrator, like a managing general agent, handles underwriting, quoting and service for an insurer under a contract, while the insurer carries the risk. Aegis General sits inside K2 Insurance Services, which its site names as the parent brand.^[1]

Two of its brands write homes:

The Affordable Housing vacant structures policy is the one you will find if you search "Aegis vacant home." It advertises a basic named perils form, values up to $500,000 depending on geography, and 3, 6 or 12 month terms.^[4] It is not available for a California address. A California house goes through the Specialty programs instead.

Do not confuse either brand with Aegis Security Insurance Company. That is a separate insurer that K2 bought in 2013 and spun off in 2019.^[10] An older market listing named it as the carrier on Aegis's California dwelling fire program.^[11]

Which Aegis Program Covers a Vacant California House?

Start with the dwelling fire program. Aegis describes it as "fire insurance for seasonal (secondary), tenant, vacation rental and vacant homes," with a DP-3 form (limited replacement cost) and a DP-1 form (actual cash value), and personal liability available by endorsement.^[2] A market listing for the program gives dwelling values up to $750,000.^[11]

When we walked through Aegis's broker application in September 2026, the admitted DP-3 line's occupancy menu offered Tenant, Owner-Primary, Seasonal and Vacation Rental, with no Vacant option. The DIC line's menu did include Vacant. So the program your house lands in is decided at the quote. It could be a DP-1, an E&S DP-3, or a DIC wrap over a California FAIR Plan fire policy. Ask your broker which one the quote uses and why.

The DIC route matters for houses in wildfire country. When Aegis launched its DB-backed dwelling fire program in 2020, it split the market by Wildfire Score: homes with scores of 0Y or lower could get a DP-3 fire policy, and homes scoring higher were steered to its stand-alone difference in conditions program, which sits on top of a separate fire policy.^[3]

Who Pays the Claim on an Aegis Policy?

The insurer named on the declarations page. For Aegis's admitted California programs that has been DB Insurance Company. Aegis announced in April 2020 that its new California dwelling fire program was "backed by A.M. Best 'A' rated DB Insurance Company," which it described as "one of the largest non-life insurance companies in South Korea," with U.S. operations based in California.^[3] DB Insurance Co., Ltd. (U.S. Branch) appears on the Department of Insurance's residential insurer contact list.^[6]

Two public numbers help you judge that insurer:

• Complaints. The Department of Insurance's 2025 Consumer Complaint Study ranks the 50 largest homeowners insurers in California. DB Insurance Co., Ltd. (U.S. Branch) ranked second, with an exposure count of about 62,324 and zero justified complaints in 2024, after 3 in 2023 and 1 in 2022.^[7]
• Financial strength. In July 2025 AM Best affirmed DB Insurance Co., Ltd. of South Korea at A+ (Superior), outlook stable.^[8] Your policy is issued by the U.S. Branch, so ask your broker for the rating that applies to it. Our AM Best ratings guide explains the scale.

In March 2025 Aegis also added surplus lines capacity for its California home and fire programs, underwritten by Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's led by Hiscox Syndicate 33.^[9] If your quote is on that paper, it is a non-admitted policy. That means no California Insurance Guarantee Association backing if the insurer fails, and surplus lines tax and fees on the bill.

What Did Aegis's Guidelines Say About Vacant Homes?

The most recent full California dwelling fire guideline we could read in public is Edition 8, from April 2020, archived from Aegis's site. It is out of date and was written for the earlier paper. It still shows how Aegis has treated vacant homes, and the same questions apply to any vacant quote:

Theft and vandalism matter most. An empty house is exactly where copper pipe, appliances and fixtures walk out the door, and where a broken window can go unnoticed for weeks. If a quote leaves theft out, ask your broker whether another market will cover it before you decide.

What Will Aegis Ask About Your House?

The Aegis application is built around the dwelling. From our September 2026 walkthrough, a quote starts with the ZIP code, the program and the effective date. Then it asks for the insured's name and the property address, which Aegis checks against a standardized address before moving on. Next comes the dwelling value. Aegis opens Verisk's 360Value estimator to estimate replacement cost, or lets the broker enter your own value with an acknowledgment. It also asks for year built, construction type, roof type, roof condition, the year the roof was replaced, and square footage, and it shows a Wildfire Score for the address.

After that come occupancy and the surcharge and discount questions. These cover a burglar alarm, business or LLC ownership, a foreclosure purchase, and property losses in the past five years. The last page sets the coverage amounts.

For a vacant house, have these ready as well: the date it became vacant, why it is empty, whether it stayed insured since then, who checks on it and how often, which utilities are on, and any work planned while the policy is in force.

How Do You Get an Aegis Quote in California?

Through an independent broker. Aegis built its California programs for "California's independent insurance brokers," and quotes are run through its broker portal.^[3] Menlo Insurance Services is a licensed California broker (CA license 6020106) and can submit a vacant house to Aegis alongside other vacant home markets, so you can compare more than one answer.

Request a vacant home quote. It opens our dwelling form, which asks how the home is used. Choose vacant and tell us how long it has been empty. If the house is in a wildfire area and the only fire option is the FAIR Plan, say so. An Aegis DIC wrap over the FAIR Plan may be the fit.

This guide is for educational purposes and summarizes Aegis General's public materials, archived Aegis guidelines, California Department of Insurance data and California law, plus the broker application as it stood in September 2026. Programs, forms, insurers and eligibility change, and your policy's specific terms, conditions and endorsements control. Menlo Insurance Services (CA license 6020106) may earn a commission on a placement and does not guarantee that any coverage or price will be available; talk to a licensed broker about your actual exposures.

The Bottom Line

Aegis General Insurance Agency is a K2 program administrator whose Specialty division writes California dwelling fire and DIC policies. Its programs have accepted vacant homes. The admitted paper has been DB Insurance's U.S. Branch, which had a clean 2024 complaint record, and Lloyd's capacity through Hiscox has been added since 2025. Aegis's national vacant structures policy does not cover California, so a California house goes through the Specialty programs. Before you bind, confirm the form, the insurer, and whether vandalism, theft, water and premises liability are on the quote, because vacant terms are narrower than a homeowners policy.