Palomar Holdings, Inc.
Carrier website links, underwriting access points, mapped product lines, and appetite notes in one place.
This appetite summary is only a guide. Confirm eligibility, submission requirements, restrictions, and binding authority directly with the carrier or underwriter before relying on it.
Carrier appetite summary
Palomar is a specialty property group focused on catastrophe and underserved risks, distributed primarily through appointed agents, brokers and MGAs using its PASS producer portal. For flood and homeowners-adjacent property risks, current public guidance is concentrated in its commercial flood E&S product plus high-level positioning on residential flood and specialty homeowners. PREFERRED / TARGET BUSINESS - Commercial Flood (E&S, Palomar Excess and Surplus Insurance Company): Mid‑market commercial properties in listed states with clean flood history and non‑sensitive contents. Target occupancies include condominiums, mercantile/shopping centers, offices/professional buildings, and hotels/motels. Product is designed as a private alternative to NFIP with no waiting period and no elevation certificate requirement. ([plmr.com](https://plmr.com/commercial-flood/?utm_source=openai)) - Residential / small‑commercial flood: Palomar positions itself as a leading national provider of flood insurance and distributes residential flood primarily via digital/MGA partners. Core appetite is 1–4 family dwellings, condo units, occupied rentals, vacation/secondary homes, and similar light‑residential risks across many states via MGAs such as INVO and Neptune Flood. Flood is often written as stand‑alone catastrophe protection layered with homeowners or small commercial property. ([plmr.com](https://plmr.com/residential-flood-insurance/?utm_source=openai)) - Specialty homeowners and cat‑property: At group level Palomar targets catastrophe‑exposed but data‑rich markets (earthquake, hurricane, flood, high‑value homes) where granular analytics and reinsurance structures support profitable growth. Home‑adjacent business is typically written on admitted paper where possible, with surplus lines capacity through PESIC for risks outside admitted guidelines. ([ir.palomarspecialty.com](https://ir.palomarspecialty.com/static-files/a5e3c59b-9601-416e-ab11-93dd9a05b88b?utm_source=openai)) RESTRICTED / DECLINED CHARACTERISTICS - Commercial Flood (E&S): - No prior flood claims allowed. - "Highly damageable contents" are ineligible (e.g., easily damaged stock or equipment stored below grade or on ground level in flood‑prone areas). - Business income coverage cannot exceed 30% of total insured value (TIV). - Accounts with missing loss runs are not acceptable; loss runs are explicitly required with each submission. ([plmr.com](https://plmr.com/commercial-flood/?utm_source=openai)) - Residential/Small Commercial Flood (via MGAs): - Generally limited to light‑residential occupancies: 1–4 unit dwellings, condo units, occupied rentals, and secondary/vacation homes. Large habitational or heavy commercial occupancies are outside normal guidelines and must go to commercial or other cat‑property facilities. ([invounderwriting.com](https://invounderwriting.com/direct-access/palomar/?utm_source=openai)) - Detailed risk and pricing rules (e.g., construction type, distance to water, elevation) are handled inside partner MGAs’ underwriting engines (Neptune Flood, INVO, others); declinations for severe, repetitive, or unacceptable flood exposure are expected even when a state appears available. - General geographic risk management: As a catastrophe‑focused writer Palomar heavily uses reinsurance and granular pricing. While not product‑specific to home/flood, they indicate that risks not meeting their technical catastrophe modeling or aggregate constraints are declined or moved to surplus lines capacity. ([ir.palomarspecialty.com](https://ir.palomarspecialty.com/static-files/a5e3c59b-9601-416e-ab11-93dd9a05b88b?utm_source=openai)) GEOGRAPHIC NOTES - Commercial Flood (E&S) – Eligible states: AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, HI*, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, ME, MI, MN, MO, NC, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, UT, VA, WA, WI. Capacity in Hawaii is more limited and written on PESIC paper. ([plmr.com](https://plmr.com/commercial-flood/?utm_source=openai)) - Residential Flood (via MGAs/partners): INVO lists Palomar flood availability in AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, GA, HI, IL, IN, NV, KS, KY, MA, ME, MI, MO, MS, NC, NJ, NM, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI. This reflects distribution footprint rather than a full appetite; local MGA rules still apply. ([invounderwriting.com](https://invounderwriting.com/direct-access/palomar/?utm_source=openai)) - Broader Palomar footprint: Palomar describes itself as writing business nationwide with a concentration in catastrophe‑exposed states (earthquake on the West Coast, hurricane in Hawaii and the Southeast, flood in multiple regions). Home and flood submissions from states outside the listed availability should be assumed ineligible unless a specific program or MGA indicates otherwise. ([palomarspecialty.com](https://palomarspecialty.com/about/?utm_source=openai)) COVERAGE / LIMITS – FLOOD - Commercial Flood (E&S): - Capacity up to $2M per risk (up to $1M in HI on PESIC paper). - TIV limitation up to $100M. - Building limit up to $2M; business personal property up to $1M. - Business income limit up to $500,000. - Fixed or percentage deductible options; no waiting period; no elevation certificate required. ([plmr.com](https://plmr.com/commercial-flood/?utm_source=openai)) - Residential Flood (group positioning): - Palomar markets that its flood offering can cover the dwelling, other structures, personal property, additional living expenses, and loss of rents where applicable, functioning as a comprehensive private alternative or complement to NFIP. Specific per‑risk limits and sublimits are controlled within each MGA/program portal rather than published at group level. ([plmr.com](https://plmr.com/residential-flood-insurance/?utm_source=openai)) SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS & WORKFLOW - Access is via appointed agents/brokers only; Palomar does not advertise open‑broker access. Agents use the PASS portal for quoting, binding, endorsements, and policy issuance for core property and flood products. ([palomarspecialty.com](https://palomarspecialty.com/agents-brokers/?utm_source=openai)) - Commercial Flood submissions must include current loss runs for each risk; submissions without verifiable loss history will not meet guidelines. Underwriters will check that no prior flood losses exist and that business income requested stays within 30% of TIV. ([plmr.com](https://plmr.com/commercial-flood/?utm_source=openai)) - For other flood and specialty homeowners placements, agents generally submit risks through downstream MGAs’ digital portals (e.g., Neptune Flood platform, INVO’s digital market) which handle eligibility, rating, and documentation on Palomar’s behalf. Expect standard data requirements: full property address, construction, elevation/flood zone, prior loss history, occupancy type, requested limits/deductibles, and any concurrent homeowners or DIC policies. ([invounderwriting.com](https://invounderwriting.com/direct-access/palomar/?utm_source=openai)) BROKER / PRODUCER NOTES - Distribution is via an “exclusive network of insurance agents and brokers.” New producers typically require appointment with Palomar or access through an existing MGA or wholesale broker; the public site does not provide open appointment instructions, so follow your wholesaler’s process or contact Palomar distribution. ([palomarspecialty.com](https://palomarspecialty.com/agents-brokers/?utm_source=openai)) - PASS producer portal is the primary platform for Palomar‑direct programs; for flood, many producers will work indirectly through MGAs (Neptune, INVO, others) that are already integrated with Palomar capacity. - In 2025 Palomar appointed Neptune Flood as its exclusive MGA for flood insurance; operationally this means most new Palomar‑paper flood will be sourced and underwritten via Neptune’s platform, and direct flood program changes (eligibility, pricing, forms) will flow through Neptune’s rules. Retail agents without direct Neptune access should route flood submissions through a wholesaler that has it. ([theinsurer.com](https://www.theinsurer.com/program-manager/news/neptune-flood-appointed-exclusive-flood-mga-for-palomar-2025-06-26/?utm_source=openai)) OPERATIONAL TAKEAWAYS FOR HOME / FLOOD - Treat Palomar as a capacity provider behind MGAs for most personal flood and cat‑home placements; underwriting decisions will be driven by the MGA platform rules. - For commercial flood, use the published guidelines: clean loss history, non‑highly‑damageable contents, BI ≤30% of TIV, within published state list and limit structure. - Where standard admitted homeowners cannot accommodate catastrophe‑exposed risks, consider pairing other carriers’ HO coverage with Palomar flood, earthquake, or DIC solutions via PASS or MGA partners, subject to each program’s internal guidelines and reinsurance‑driven aggregation limits.