For the ultra-rich, owning nine overseas homes and a fleet of 19 cars is merely "average"—but the trappings of wealth also require extraordinary insurance.
America’s elite typically own multiple houses overseas, according to a study released on Thursday by the New York-based AIG Private Client Group. They own an average of nine homes on foreign soil.
AIG’s study focused on clients who pay more than $250,000 in annual insurance premiums, a group with complex insurance needs driven in part by the amount of foreign property they own.
This elite client segment was most likely to have foreign properties in North and South America, with Mexico, the Bahamas and Caribbean countries accounting for 36 percent of the overseas home count.
Overall, more than 50 percent of the homes owned by that client segment were in the Americas, according to AIG.
The company also found that these ultra-high-net-worth clients owned an average of 19 regular-use vehicles, $1.7 million worth of insured jewelry and $19.6 million of insured art.
Based on its findings, AIG announced on Thursday that it will begin offering clients a new alternative to insuring their foreign properties with multiple policies purchased through different providers.
The new multinational property coverage marries the infrastructure of AIG Commercial’s multinational coverage offering with the service and expertise of the AIG Private Client Group.
AIG is one of the world’s largest insurers with more than 88 million customers in 130 countries. The company claims to insure “almost half” of the Forbes Richest 400 Americans.