Real Estate & Insurance
We work with family offices and business owners — older buildings, complex structures, and properties in the $10M+ range that standard carriers won't touch.
California real estate in the $10M+ range — particularly older buildings and properties with complex ownership structures — sits in a market most standard brokers can't serve. Standard carriers decline. Surplus lines markets require relationships. And the coverage gaps on hard-to-place properties tend to be the most expensive ones. That's where Rexford starts. Brand new commercial construction? We can place that too — we just don't lead with it. That part's easy.
Luxury single-family homes, office buildings, shopping centers, and mixed-use portfolios. Investors at this level carry more exposure than a standard policy can address — and the gaps only grow as the portfolio does.
Office buildings, retail centers, industrial properties, and mixed-use developments. Commercial property carries liability exposures that standard policies often don't adequately address.
Families with significant real estate holdings face estate planning implications alongside insurance questions. The two need to be coordinated — not handled separately by advisors who don't talk to each other.
Foreign nationals owning California real estate face unique U.S. estate tax exposure and probate complications that require specialized planning beyond what most brokers can offer.
California real estate is not a standard risk. The combination of high property values, landlord liability, umbrella gaps, and estate tax exposure creates a layered set of problems that don't get solved with a single policy placement.
Exposure 01
Tenant injuries, habitability claims, and wrongful eviction suits are common sources of large losses that standard landlord policies often don't fully cover.
Exposure 02
Many real estate investors carry umbrella policies that exclude rental properties or have sublimits that don't reflect the actual liability exposure of a California portfolio.
Exposure 03
California real estate held at passing can trigger significant federal estate tax — and for foreign nationals, exposure begins at a much lower threshold than most families expect.
Most insurance brokers work comfortably in the standard market — newer construction, clean loss histories, straightforward ownership. When a property falls outside that profile, they run out of options quickly.
Rexford was built for the harder placements: buildings constructed before modern codes, properties with prior losses, complex ownership entities, and portfolios in the $10M+ range where the premium is significant and the stakes are high.
Older buildings in California carry unique exposures — earthquake vulnerability, outdated electrical and plumbing systems, lead and asbestos considerations, and code upgrade requirements after a loss. Standard carriers often exclude or sublimit these exposures. Surplus lines markets address them directly.
The $10M+ range is where most retail brokers lose their footing. Too large for standard markets to absorb comfortably, too small for the largest institutional programs. Rexford operates in this space daily.
For what it's worth — we can insure brand new commercial buildings too. We just don't lead with it. Those are the easy ones.
Older California properties and portfolios in the $10M+ range frequently fall outside standard carrier appetites. Rexford works with wholesale market partners including AMWINS and CRC Group to access excess and surplus lines markets specifically built for this risk profile. This matters because:
Older construction, deferred maintenance, prior losses, and high valuations are exactly the characteristics that push a property into the surplus lines market — where coverage is available, but only through brokers with the right wholesale relationships.
Rexford specializes in this market. Properties in the $10M+ range with characteristics standard carriers won't accept are our most common client profile — not the exception.
Rexford evaluates each property and portfolio individually — looking at prior loss history, construction type, location, occupancy, and liability exposure — before recommending coverage structures that actually hold up.
A California landlord with multiple properties and a $1 million umbrella policy is not adequately covered. Jury verdicts in California habitability and personal injury cases regularly exceed standard umbrella limits — and when they do, the investor's personal assets are next in line.
California Liability Reality
$5M+
Umbrella limits recommended for real estate investors with multiple California properties. Most carry a fraction of this — and don't find out until after a claim.
Rexford structures umbrella and excess liability coverage specific to real estate portfolios — coordinated across properties, entities, and personal exposure — so that a single claim doesn't unravel years of asset accumulation.
California real estate is often the largest asset in a high-net-worth family's estate. When a property owner passes, estate taxes, probate costs, and transfer complications can force the sale of property the family intended to keep — at the worst possible time and under significant time pressure.
An Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT) is one of the most effective tools for providing the liquidity to handle estate costs without forcing a sale. Life insurance held inside an ILIT:
Pays proceeds outside of probate — directly to the trust, immediately upon the insured's passing, without waiting for the estate to settle.
Keeps the death benefit outside the taxable estate — so the insurance proceeds don't compound the very tax problem they're meant to solve.
Provides liquidity on demand — allowing heirs to pay estate taxes and administration costs without selling the real estate that anchors the family's wealth.
For foreign nationals owning California real estate, ILIT planning is particularly critical. The federal estate tax exemption available to nonresident aliens is significantly lower than the exemption available to U.S. citizens — meaning a much larger portion of a California property's value can be exposed to estate tax upon passing, with a nine-month window to address it.
Most brokers handle property insurance. Most estate planning attorneys handle wills and trusts. Very few advisors sit at the intersection of both — understanding how insurance structures, property ownership entities, and estate plans need to coordinate to actually protect what a real estate investor has spent years building.
Rexford starts with the full picture: what you own, how it's titled, what your current coverage actually says, and what would happen to your portfolio if something went wrong tomorrow. From there, we build a coordinated strategy — not a collection of disconnected policies.
No obligation. A fresh set of eyes on what you have — and where the gaps are.
Request Your Complimentary Review →The content on this page reflects the opinions and perspectives of Rexford Insurance Solutions and is intended for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page constitutes legal, tax, financial, or investment advice. Insurance needs vary by individual circumstance and jurisdiction. You should consult a licensed attorney, tax advisor, or financial professional before making decisions based on the information presented here. Rexford Insurance Solutions is licensed in California (Lic. 6017874).