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Palomar Holdings
Palomar Holdings, Inc. launched in 2014 with CEO Mac Armstrong at the helm, taking the company public via IPO on NASDAQ in 2019.
Palomar Holdings
Palomar Holdings, Inc. launched in 2014 with CEO Mac Armstrong at the helm, taking the company public via IPO on NASDAQ in 2019. The firm originated as an excess and surplus lines carrier, targeting specialty property risks other insurers had abandoned — notably earthquake, hurricane, and flood-exposed residential and commercial lines. Armstrong, who previously helped build Arrowhead General Insurance Agency, structured Palomar as a hybrid: an admitted carrier for certain residential earthquake coverage in California, Oregon, and Washington, and an E&S carrier for broader specialty property across the United States. The firm writes across admitted and non-admitted markets, covering residential earthquake, commercial earthquake, specialty homeowners, flood, Hawaii hurricane, and inland marine lines. Palomar does not underwrite through digital direct-to-consumer platforms — instead, it distributes exclusively through roughly 1,500 independent agency relationships and wholesale broker partners. The company has historically utilized a fee-based fronting arrangement with a third-party reinsurer to access additional premium and diversify its book. Known reinsurance relationships include Lloyd's syndicates and other global property-cat capacity providers. Palomar operates from its headquarters in La Jolla, California, and employs a lean technology-centric underwriting stack that relies on proprietary risk-pricing models. In February 2024, Palomar opened a secondary office in Scottsdale, Arizona, to expand underwriting and claims talent (per the firm, February 2024). The firm has not disclosed total assets under management in the traditional sense, as it reports its own statutory surplus — which stood at roughly $630 million as of year-end 2023 — and generates revenue primarily through gross written premiums, which exceeded $1 billion in 2024 (per the firm's quarterly filings, 2024). Palomar's structural differentiator is its identity as a publicly traded insurance carrier that self-describes as an "insurtech" — a designation that typically implies a software-first approach to underwriting workflow and pricing, not a pivot to a marketplace or agency model. Unlike many venture-backed insurtechs, Palomar generates earnings and holds its own risk on balance sheet rather than operating as an MGA or broker. The firm's governance reflects its hybrid status: former AIG and Berkshire Hathaway alum Angela Grant joined the board in 2022 (per SEC filings, 2022), signaling a mix of legacy insurance and tech-forward thinking at the director level.
General information
Firm type
null
Year founded
2014
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
La Jolla
Corporate office
La Jolla, CA, United States
Principals
Mac Armstrong
Chief Executive Officer
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Palomar Holdings?
As a publicly traded insurance carrier rather than an asset manager, Palomar's primary capital allocation decisions — underwriting selection, pricing, and reinsurance purchasing — are overseen by CEO Mac Armstrong and the executive underwriting leadership team. The firm's investment portfolio, held against statutory surplus, is managed under board-approved guidelines, with specific investment officers handling day-to-day management of fixed-income and equity holdings (per the firm's 10-K filings).
How is Palomar structured — as an insurtech, a carrier, or an MGA?
Palomar is a full-stack admitted and excess & surplus lines insurance carrier, not an MGA, broker, or software vendor. The company uses its own balance sheet to hold risk, generates earnings from underwriting profit and investment income, and self-identifies as an 'insurtech' because of its technology-first approach to pricing, underwriting, and policy administration.
What lines of business does Palomar underwrite, and what does it avoid?
Palomar focuses on specialty property lines that standard carriers often exclude: residential earthquake, commercial earthquake, flood, Hawaii hurricane, and certain inland marine lines. The firm does not underwrite general liability, workers' compensation, commercial auto, or life and health lines. Its admitted residential earthquake book is concentrated in California, Oregon, and Washington.
How does Palomar source business without direct-to-consumer distribution?
Palomar distributes exclusively through a network of approximately 1,500 independent retail agents and wholesale brokers across the United States. The firm does not have a direct-to-consumer digital platform — its technology investment focuses on internal underwriting workflow, pricing models, and agent portal tools, not on disintermediating the agent channel.
Is Palomar exposed to reinsurance counterparty risk?
Yes. Like most catastrophe-exposed carriers, Palomar purchases significant reinsurance from Lloyd's syndicates, global reinsurers, and other counterparties to protect against severe earthquake and hurricane loss scenarios. The firm also generates fee income through a fronting arrangement in which it cedes premium to a third-party reinsurer, retaining a fee for its underwriting and distribution services (per the firm's 10-K, 2023).
Does Palomar maintain any philanthropic or ESG-linked structures?
Palomar has not disclosed a separate philanthropic foundation tied to the firm or its founders. Corporate ESG efforts are reported through annual filings and center on community resilience initiatives related to the natural-disaster perils the firm insures, but no dedicated philanthropic vehicle has been publicly identified as of 2024.
What investment stage does Palomar participate in? Is this relevant for LPs?
Palomar does not raise outside LP capital, invest in startups, or operate as a venture capital vehicle. It is a publicly traded insurance holding company (NASDAQ: PLMR). Institutional allocators interested in insurtech exposure interact with Palomar by purchasing its publicly traded equity, not through fund commitments or co-investments.
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