HCI Group (HCI) Risk Factors

Any catastrophic event, a destructive weather pattern, a general economic trend, regulatory developments or other conditions specifically affecting the state of Florida could have a disproportionately adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. While we actively manage our exposure to catastrophic events through our underwriting process and the purchase of reinsurance, the fact that our business is concentrated in the state of Florida subjects it to increased exposure to certain catastrophic events and destructive weather patterns such as hurricanes, tropical storms, and tornadoes. Changes in the prevailing regulatory, legal, economic, political, demographic and competitive environment, and other conditions in the state of Florida could also make it less attractive for us to do business in Florida and would have a more pronounced effect on our business than it would on other insurance companies that are more geographically diversified. Since our business is concentrated in this manner, the occurrence of one or more catastrophic events or other conditions affecting losses in the state of Florida could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and/or results of operations.

From time to time, political events and positions affect the insurance market, including efforts to suppress rates to a level that may not allow us to reach targeted levels of profitability. For example, if our loss ratio compares favorably to that of the industry, state regulatory authorities may impose rate rollbacks, require us to pay premium refunds to policyholders, or challenge or otherwise delay our efforts to raise rates even if the homeowners industry generally is not experiencing regulatory challenges to rate increases. In addition, certain states have enacted laws that require an insurer conducting business in that state to participate in assigned risk plans, reinsurance facilities and joint underwriting associations. Certain states also require insurers to offer coverage to all consumers, often restricting an insurer's ability to charge the price it might otherwise charge. In these markets, we may be compelled to underwrite significant amounts of business at lower-than-desired rates, possibly leading to an unacceptable return on equity. Our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected by any of these factors.

As part of our normal operations, we collect, process and retain certain sensitive and confidential information. We are subject to various federal and state privacy laws and rules regarding the use and disclosure of certain sensitive or confidential information. Despite the security measures we have implemented to help ensure data security and compliance with applicable laws and rules, which include firewalls, regular penetration testing and other measures, our facilities and systems, and those of our third-party service providers and vendors, may be vulnerable to cyber-attacks, security breaches, acts of vandalism, computer viruses, theft of data, misplaced or lost data, programming and human errors, physical break-ins, or other disruptions. In addition, we cannot ensure that we will be able to identify, prevent or contain the effects of possible cyber-attacks or other cybersecurity risks in the future that may bypass our security measures or disrupt our information technology systems or business. Noncompliance with any privacy or security laws and regulations, or any security breach, cyber-attack or cybersecurity breach, and any incident involving the misappropriation, loss or other unauthorized disclosure or use of, or access to, sensitive or confidential member information, could require us to expend significant capital and other resources to continue to modify or enhance our protective measures and to remediate any damage caused by such breaches. In addition, this could result in interruptions to our operations and damage to our reputation, and misappropriation of confidential information could also result in regulatory enforcement actions, material fines and penalties, litigation or other liability or actions which could have a material adverse effect on our business, cash flows, financial condition and results of operations. As the regulatory environment related to information security, data collection and use, and privacy becomes increasingly rigorous, with new and constantly changing requirements applicable to our business, compliance with those requirements could also result in additional costs. We rely on service providers and vendors to provide certain technology, systems and services that we use in connection with various functions of our business, including PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) compliant credit card processing, and we may entrust them with confidential information. The information systems of our third-party service providers and vendors are also vulnerable to an increasing threat of continually evolving cybersecurity risks. Unauthorized parties may attempt to gain access to these systems or our information through fraud or other means of deceiving our associates, third-party service providers or vendors. Hardware, software or applications we obtain from third parties may contain defects in design or manufacture or other problems that could unexpectedly compromise information security. The methods used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service or sabotage systems are also constantly changing and evolving and may be difficult to anticipate or detect for long periods of time. Ever-evolving threats mean our third-party service providers and vendors must continually evaluate and adapt their own respective systems and processes, and there is no assurance that they will be adequate to safeguard against all data security breaches or misuses of data. Any future significant compromise or breach of our data security via a third-party service provider or vendor could result in additional significant costs, lost revenues, fines, lawsuits, and damage to our reputation. We have acquired a cybersecurity insurance policy to help mitigate any financial impact that may incur with a breach along with the assistance for legal and/or media requirements during that time.

Although we aim to provide adequate and appropriate coverage under each of our policies, customers could purchase policies that prove to be inadequate or inappropriate. If such customers were to bring a claim or claims alleging that we failed in our responsibilities to provide them with the type or amount of coverage that they sought to purchase, we could be found liable for amounts significantly in excess of the policy limit, resulting in an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. While we maintain errors and omissions insurance coverage to protect us against such liability, such coverage may be insufficient or inadequate.

We write insurance policies that cover homeowners, condominium owners, and tenants for losses that result from, among other things, catastrophes. We are therefore subject to losses, including claims under policies we have written, arising out of catastrophes that may have a significant effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition. A significant catastrophe could also have an adverse effect on our reinsurers. Catastrophes can be caused by various events, including hurricanes, tropical storms, tornadoes, windstorms, earthquakes, hailstorms, explosions, power outages, fires, winter storms and man-made events. The incidence and severity of catastrophes are inherently unpredictable. The extent of losses from a catastrophe is a function of both the total amount of insured exposure in the area affected by the event and the severity of the event. Our policyholders are currently concentrated in Florida and the northeast and southeast regions, which are subject to adverse weather conditions such as hurricanes, tropical storms and winter storms. Therefore, although we attempt to manage our exposure to catastrophes through our underwriting process and the purchase of reinsurance protection, an especially severe catastrophe or series of catastrophes could exceed our reinsurance protection and may have a material, adverse impact on our results of operations and financial condition.