HCI Group Receives Approval for New Carrier and Citizens Assumption

GlobeNewswire

TAMPA, Fla., Nov. 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE: HCI), a holding company with operations in homeowners insurance, information technology services, real estate, and reinsurance, announced today that Condo Owners Reciprocal Exchange, an HCI-sponsored reciprocal insurer with plans to write commercial residential policies, has received from Florida insurance regulators a certificate of authority to transact insurance in Florida. Condo Owners Reciprocal Exchange, or CORE, plans to commence operations in February 2024 by assuming policies representing approximately $75 million of in-force premium from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, Florida’s state-backed insurance company.

“The launch of CORE marks HCI’s entrance into the commercial residential insurance market in Florida. The technology we’ve built and our management expertise enabled us to identify attractive policies at Citizens for assumption and begin operations quickly,” said Paresh Patel, HCI’s chairman and chief executive officer. “We appreciate the dedicated efforts by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation to approve the formation of CORE and help bring additional customer choice to Florida. We expect CORE will offer select Citizens policyholders terms similar to their existing Citizens policies.”

A “reciprocal insurer” is an unincorporated aggregation of at least 25 policyholders operating through an attorney in fact to provide insurance among themselves. A reciprocal insurer is essentially owned by its policyholders, but its operations such as underwriting, claims and management services are provided by an attorney-in-fact for a predetermined management fee.

About HCI Group, Inc.
HCI Group, Inc. owns subsidiaries engaged in diverse, yet complementary business activities, including homeowners insurance, information technology services, insurance management, real estate, and reinsurance. HCI’s leading insurance operation, TypTap Insurance Company, is a technology-driven homeowners insurance company. TypTap’s operations are powered in large part by insurance-related information technology developed by HCI’s software subsidiary, Exzeo USA, Inc. HCI’s largest subsidiary, Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty Insurance Company, Inc., provides homeowners insurance primarily in Florida. HCI’s real estate subsidiary, Greenleaf Capital, LLC, owns and operates multiple properties in Florida, including office buildings, retail centers and marinas.

The company's common shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "HCI" and are included in the Russell 2000 and S&P SmallCap 600 Index. HCI Group, Inc. regularly publishes financial and other information in the Investor Information section of the company’s website. For more information about HCI Group and its subsidiaries, visit www.hcigroup.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may contain forward-looking statements made pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “confident,” “prospects” and “project” and other similar words and expressions are intended to signify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and conditions but rather are subject to various risks and uncertainties. For example, HCI Group can give no assurance that Condo Owners Reciprocal Exchange will commence operations in February 2024 or that the planned policy takeout will result in approximately $75 million of premium. Some of these risks and uncertainties are identified in the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Should any risks or uncertainties develop into actual events, these developments could have material adverse effects on the company’s business, financial condition and results of operations. HCI Group, Inc. disclaims all obligations to update any forward-looking statements.