Palomar (PLMR) KBW Insurance Conference 2026 summary

Business diversification and growth

• Expanded into casualty, surety, and crop insurance, achieving strong diversification and consistent earnings with 15 consecutive earnings beats.

• Raised adjusted net income guidance three times for 2026, aiming to double adjusted net income every three to five years under the '2X' philosophy.

• Attracted and retained top talent through a meritocratic, entrepreneurial culture and performance-based compensation, supporting growth in new lines like builders risk, crop, and surety.

• Recent acquisitions in surety (FIA and Gray Casualty & Surety) have been integrated, creating a platform for organic growth and aiming for top 20 market position.

AI and technology initiatives

• Leveraging AI in underwriting, portfolio management, and operational efficiency, including the launch of PLMR.Farm for crop insurance.

• AI-enabled underwriting workbenches and improved catastrophe modeling enhance risk selection and pricing.

• AI benefits expected across most P&L lines, improving top-line growth, loss ratios, and investment income, supporting the 2X net income goal.

• Focus on enabling teams to do more with technology rather than reducing headcount.

Reinsurance and risk management

• Maintains a diversified reinsurance strategy across all lines, with over 100 counterparties and a $4 billion earthquake reinsurance tower.

• Adjusts retention based on market conditions; current earthquake retention is $20 million, now within a month of earnings.

• Uses both traditional and insurance-linked securities (ILS) markets, including catastrophe bonds, to diversify risk transfer.

• Crop reinsurance cession reduced from 95% to 50% as balance sheet capacity grows.