UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 14A

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Securities

Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No. )

Palomar Holdings, Inc.

(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)

 
(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if Other than the Registrant)

Dear Stockholder:

I am pleased to invite you to attend the 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) of Palomar Holdings, Inc. (“Palomar”), which will be held at the Palomar offices, located at 7979 Ivanhoe Avenue, Suite 500, La Jolla, California 92037 on May 23, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time. Doors open at 8:30 a.m. Pacific Time.

At the Annual Meeting, we will ask you to consider the following proposals:

Stockholders of record as of April 2, 2024, may vote at the Annual Meeting or any postponement or adjournment of the meeting.

We are pleased to announce that we are taking advantage of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules that allow companies to furnish proxy materials to their stockholders over the Internet. We believe that this process will allow us to provide our stockholders with the information they need in a timely manner, reduce the environmental impact of printing and distributing our proxy materials and lower our costs.

YOUR VOTE IS IMPORTANT. Whether or not you plan to attend the Annual Meeting of Stockholders, we urge you to submit your vote via the Internet, telephone, or if you requested a printed copy of the proxy materials, via mail. Whether or not you attend the Annual Meeting, it is important that your shares be represented and voted at the meeting. Therefore, I urge you to promptly vote and submit your proxy via the Internet, by phone, or, if you requested a printed copy of the proxy materials, by signing, dating and returning the enclosed proxy card in the enclosed envelope. If you decide to attend the Annual Meeting, you will be able to vote in person, even if you have previously submitted your proxy.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to express our appreciation of your interest in Palomar.

Sincerely,

Mac Armstrong

Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer

La Jolla, California

April 11, 2024

Board Engagement With Shareholders

Since our Initial Public Offering (“IPO”) in 2019, our Board has prioritized maintaining a constructive relationship with our shareholders. Each year following our annual meeting, we conduct a comprehensive shareholder outreach campaign to solicit feedback on a wide array of matters. This feedback provides vital input on the design of our compensation programs, sustainability strategy, and governance practices.

In 2023, we had a highly successful say-on-pay result, with more than 91% of votes cast in favor of our say-on-pay proposal. After our 2023 stockholder meeting, we initiated our annual shareholder outreach campaign and contacted fifteen (15) shareholders owning more than 50% of our total shares outstanding and invited them to meet with members of our Board and executive management team. The majority of shareholders expressed satisfaction with the recent enhancements we made to our executive compensation program and governance practices, and they advised that additional meetings were not necessary. Four (4) shareholders owning approximately 15% of our total shares outstanding accepted our invitation to meet with us and provided constructive feedback. Our Lead Independent Director and Compensation Committee Chair, Richard Taketa, led each of these shareholder meetings.

In line with our 2023 say-on-pay voting outcome, the feedback we received from shareholders during our 2023/2024 outreach campaign confirmed their support of the recent enhancements we made on the executive compensation, governance, and sustainability front, including the following:

Notice of Annual Meeting of Stockholders

Proxy Summary

This summary highlights certain information contained elsewhere in our proxy statement. You should read the entire proxy statement carefully before voting. Please see the Glossary at the end of this proxy statement for a list of certain defined terms used throughout this proxy statement.

Stockholders will be asked to vote on the following matters at the 2024 Annual Meeting:

Director Nominees

Name	Age	Director Since	Independent	Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee	Audit Committee	Compensation Committee	Sustainability Committee	Enterprise Risk Management Committee
Catriona M. Fallon	53	2019		l	l
Daina Middleton	58	2021			l	l	l
Richard H. Taketa	52	2019		l		l

l Chair     l Member

Table of Contents

Proxy Statement

For 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders

To Be Held at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time on May 23, 2024

This proxy statement and the enclosed form of proxy are furnished in connection with the solicitation of proxies by the Board of Directors (or the “Board”) of Palomar Holdings, Inc. (the “Company” or “Palomar”) for use at its 2024 Annual Meeting of stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”), and any postponements, adjournments, or continuations thereof. The Annual Meeting will be held on May 23, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time, at our principal executive offices located at 7979 Ivanhoe Avenue, Suite 500, La Jolla, California 92037.

Questions and Answers about the Annual Meeting

The information provided in the “question and answer” format below addresses certain frequently asked questions but is not intended to be a summary of all matters contained in this proxy statement. Please read the entire proxy statement carefully before voting your shares.

What is a proxy?

A proxy is your legal designation of another person to vote the stock you own. The person you designate is your “proxy,” and you give the proxy authority to vote your shares by voting by telephone or over the Internet, or, if you requested a printed copy of the proxy materials, by submitting the enclosed proxy card. We have designated our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mac Armstrong, to serve as proxy for the Annual Meeting.

Why did I receive a notice regarding the availability of proxy materials on the Internet instead of a full set of proxy materials?

Under rules adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), we have elected to furnish our proxy materials to our stockholders primarily via the Internet, instead of mailing printed copies of the proxy materials to each stockholder. On or about April 11, 2024, we expect to mail to our stockholders a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials (the “Notice”) containing instructions on how to access our proxy materials and our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 via the Internet and how to vote your proxy. If you received the Notice, you will not automatically receive a printed copy of our proxy materials in the mail. If you would like to receive a printed copy, please follow the instructions provided in the Notice.

Why am I receiving these materials?

The Board of Palomar is making available these proxy materials to you in connection with the Board’s solicitation of proxies for use at Palomar’s Annual Meeting, which will take place on May 23, 2024. Stockholders are invited to attend the Annual Meeting and are requested to vote on the proposals described in this proxy statement.

What information is contained in these materials?

The information included in this proxy statement relates to the proposals to be voted on at the Annual Meeting, the voting process, the compensation of our most highly paid executive officers and our directors, and certain other required information. Palomar’s 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K, which includes our audited consolidated financial statements, is also furnished with this proxy statement.

What proposals will be voted on at the Annual Meeting?

The proposals scheduled to be voted on at the Annual Meeting include:

Proxy Statement

At the time this proxy statement was filed with the SEC, our management and Board were not aware of any other matters to be presented at the Annual Meeting other than those set forth in this proxy statement and in the notice accompanying this proxy statement.

How does our Board recommend that I vote?

Our Board recommends that you vote:

Who is entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting?

Holders of our common stock at the close of business on April 2, 2024, the record date for the Annual Meeting (the “Record Date”), are entitled to notice of and to vote at the Annual Meeting. Each stockholder is entitled to one vote for each share of our common stock held as of the Record Date. As of the Record Date, there were 24,921,060 shares of common stock outstanding and entitled to vote. Stockholders are not permitted to cumulate votes with respect to the election of directors. The shares you are entitled to vote include shares that are (1) held of record directly in your name, and (2) held for you as the beneficial owner through a stockbroker, bank or other nominee.

What is the difference between holding shares as a stockholder of record and as a beneficial owner?

Stockholder of Record: Shares Registered in Your Name. If, at the close of business on the Record Date, your shares were registered directly in your name with Computershare Trust Company, N.A., our transfer agent, then you are considered the stockholder of record with respect to those shares. As the stockholder of record, you have the right to grant your voting proxy directly to the individual listed on the form of proxy card or to vote in person at the Annual Meeting.

Beneficial Owners: Shares Registered in the Name of a Broker, Bank or Other Nominee. If, at the close of business on the Record Date, your shares were held, not in your name, but rather in a stock brokerage account or by a bank or other nominee on your behalf, then you are considered the beneficial owner of shares held in “street name.” As the beneficial owner, you have the right to direct your broker, bank or other nominee how to vote your shares by following the voting instructions your broker, bank or other nominee provides. If you do not provide your broker, bank or other nominee with instructions on how to vote your shares, your broker, bank or other nominee may, in its discretion, vote your shares with respect to routine matters but may not vote your shares with respect to any non-routine matters. Please see “What if I do not specify how my shares are to be voted?” for additional information.

How can I contact Palomar’s transfer agent?

Contact our transfer agent by either writing to Computershare Investor Services, P.O. Box 505000, Louisville, KY 40233-5000 by telephoning (800) 736-3001 or (781) 575-3100, or via its Investor Center at www.computershare.com/ investor.

Do I have to do anything in advance if I plan to attend the Annual Meeting in person?

Stockholder of Record: Shares Registered in Your Name. If you were a stockholder of record at the close of business on the Record Date, you do not need to do anything in advance to attend and/or vote your shares in person at the Annual Meeting, but you will need to present government-issued photo identification for entrance to the Annual Meeting.

Beneficial Owners: Shares Registered in the Name of a Broker, Bank or Other Nominee. If you were a beneficial owner at the close of business on the Record Date, you may not vote your shares in person at the Annual Meeting unless you obtain a “legal proxy” from your broker, bank or other nominee who is the stockholder of record with respect to your shares. You may still attend the Annual Meeting even if you do not have a legal proxy. For entrance to the Annual Meeting, you will need to provide proof of beneficial ownership as of the Record Date, such as the notice or voting instructions you received from your broker, bank or other nominee or a brokerage statement reflecting your ownership of shares as of the Record Date, and present government-issued photo identification.

Proxy Statement

Please note that no cameras, recording equipment, large bags, briefcases, or packages will be permitted in the Annual Meeting.

Will the Annual Meeting be webcast?

We do not expect to webcast the Annual Meeting.

How do I vote and what are the voting deadlines?

Stockholder of Record: Shares Registered in Your Name. If you are a stockholder of record, you can vote in one of the following ways:

Please note that the Internet and telephone voting facilities will close at 11:59 PM Pacific Time on May 22, 2024.

Beneficial Owners: Shares Registered in the Name of a Broker, Bank or Other Nominee. If you are the beneficial owner of shares held of record by a broker, bank, or other nominee, you will receive voting instructions from your broker, bank or other nominee. You must follow the voting instructions provided by your broker, bank, or other nominee in order to instruct your broker, bank or other nominee how to vote your shares. The availability of Internet and telephone voting options will depend on the voting process of your broker, bank, or other nominee. As discussed above, if you are a beneficial owner, you may not vote your shares in person at the Annual Meeting unless you obtain a legal proxy from your broker, bank or other nominee.

Can I change my vote or revoke my proxy?

Stockholder of Record: Shares Registered in Your Name. If you are a stockholder of record, you may revoke your proxy or change your proxy instructions at any time before your proxy is voted at the Annual Meeting by:

Beneficial Owners: Shares Registered in the Name of a Broker, Bank or Other Nominee. If you are the beneficial owner of your shares, you must contact the broker, bank or other nominee holding your shares and follow their instructions to change your vote or revoke your proxy.

Is there a list of stockholders entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting?

The names of stockholders of record entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting will be available at the Annual Meeting and for ten days prior to the meeting for any purpose germane to the meeting, between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time, at our corporate headquarters at 7979 Ivanhoe Avenue, Suite 500, La Jolla, California 92037, by contacting our corporate secretary.

What is the effect of giving a proxy?

Proxies are solicited by and on behalf of our Board. The person named in the proxy has been designated as proxy holder by our Board. The shares represented by the proxy will be voted at the Annual Meeting in accordance with the instructions of the stockholder. If no specific instructions are given, however, the shares will be voted in accordance with the recommendations of our Board. If any matters not described in this proxy statement are properly presented at the Annual Meeting, the proxy holder will use his own judgment to determine how to vote your shares. If the Annual

Proxy Statement

Meeting is postponed or adjourned, the proxy holder can vote your shares on the new meeting date, unless you have properly revoked your proxy, as described above.

What if I do not specify how my shares are to be voted?

Stockholder of Record: Shares Registered in Your Name. If you are a stockholder of record and you submit a proxy, but you do not provide voting instructions, your shares will be voted:

Beneficial Owners: Shares Registered in the Name of a Broker, Bank or Other Nominee. If you are a beneficial owner and you do not provide your broker, bank or other nominee that holds your shares with voting instructions, then your broker, bank or other nominee will determine if it has discretion to vote on each matter. Brokers do not have discretion to vote on non-routine matters. Proposal No. 1 (election of directors) and Proposal No. 2 (Say-on-Pay-Vote) are non-routine matters, while Proposal No. 3 (ratification of appointment of independent registered public accounting firm) is a routine matter. As a result, if you do not provide voting instructions to your broker, bank or other nominee, then your broker, bank or other nominee may not vote your shares with respect to Proposals No. 1 or 2, which would result in “broker non- votes,” but may, in its discretion, vote your shares with respect to Proposal No. 3. For additional information regarding broker non-votes, see “What are the effects of abstentions and broker non-votes?” below.

What is a quorum?

A quorum is the minimum number of shares required to be present at the Annual Meeting for the meeting to be properly held under our bylaws and Delaware law. A majority of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock and entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, present in person or by proxy, constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business at the Annual Meeting. As noted above, as of the Record Date, there were a total of 24,921,060 shares of common stock outstanding, which means that 12,460,531 shares of common stock must be represented in person or by proxy at the Annual Meeting to have a quorum. If there is no quorum, a majority of the shares present at the Annual Meeting may adjourn the meeting to a later date.

What are the effects of abstentions and broker non-votes?

An abstention represents a stockholder’s affirmative choice to decline to vote on a proposal. If a stockholder indicates that it wishes to abstain from voting its shares, or if a broker, bank or other nominee holding its customers’ shares of record causes abstentions to be recorded for shares, these shares will be considered present but will not be treated as votes cast at the Annual Meeting. As a result, abstentions will not be treated as votes cast and will have no effect in cases where approval of the proposal requires the affirmative majority of votes cast (e.g., Proposal No. 2). Because the outcome of Proposal No. 1 (election of directors) will be determined by a plurality vote, abstentions will have no impact on the outcome of such proposal as long as a quorum exists. A broker non-vote occurs when a broker, bank or other nominee holding shares for a beneficial owner does not vote on a particular proposal because the broker, bank or other nominee does not have discretionary voting power with respect to such proposal and has not received voting instructions from the beneficial owner of the shares. Broker non-votes will be counted for purposes of calculating whether a quorum is present at the Annual Meeting but will not be counted for purposes of determining the number of votes cast. Therefore, a broker non-vote will make a quorum more readily attainable but will not otherwise affect the outcome of the vote on any proposal.

Proxy Statement

What is the voting requirement to approve each of the proposals?

Proposal No. 1: Election of three nominees for Class II directors named in this proxy statement to hold office until our 2027 Annual Meeting of stockholders or until their successors are duly elected and qualified.

The election of the directors requires a plurality vote of the shares of our common stock present in person or by proxy at the Annual Meeting and entitled to vote thereon to be approved. “Plurality” means that the nominees who receive the largest number of votes cast “FOR” are elected as directors. You may (i) vote FOR all nominees, (ii) WITHHOLD your vote as to all nominees, or (iii) vote FOR all nominees except for those specific nominees from whom you WITHHOLD your vote. Any shares not voted FOR a particular nominee (whether as a result of voting withheld or a broker non-vote) will not be counted in such nominees’ favor and will have no effect on the outcome of the election. If you WITHHOLD your vote as to all nominees, you will be deemed to have abstained from voting on Proposal No. 1, and such abstention will have no effect on the outcome of the election of directors.

Proposal No. 2: Approval, on a non-binding advisory basis, of the compensation of our Named Executive Officers as described in this proxy statement.

The proposal to approve, on a non-binding advisory basis, the compensation of our Named Executive Officers as set forth in this proxy statement requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast at the Annual Meeting and entitled to vote thereon to be approved. You may vote FOR, AGAINST or ABSTAIN. If you ABSTAIN from voting on Proposal No. 2, the abstention will not be counted as a vote cast and will have no effect on the outcome of the proposal. Broker non-votes will not be considered votes cast on this proposal, and, therefore, will have no effect on the vote for this proposal.

Proposal No. 3: Ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for our fiscal year ending December 31, 2024.

The ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast at the Annual Meeting to be approved. You may vote FOR, AGAINST or ABSTAIN. If you ABSTAIN from voting on Proposal No. 3, the abstention will not be counted as a vote cast and will have no effect on the outcome of the proposal. Broker non-votes will have no effect on the outcome of this proposal.

Who will count the votes?

A representative of our mailing agent, Computershare Trust Company, N.A., will tabulate the votes and Chris Uchida, our Chief Financial Officer, will act as inspector of elections.

How are proxies solicited for the Annual Meeting and who is paying for such solicitation?

Our Board is soliciting proxies for use at the Annual Meeting by means of the proxy materials. We will bear the entire cost of proxy solicitation, including the preparation, assembly, printing, mailing and distribution of the proxy materials. Copies of solicitation materials will also be made available upon request to brokers, banks and other nominees to forward to the beneficial owners of the shares held of record by such brokers, banks or other nominees. The original solicitation of proxies may be supplemented by solicitation by telephone, electronic communication, or other means by our directors, officers, employees or agents. No additional compensation will be paid to these individuals for any such services, although we may reimburse such individuals for their reasonable out-of-pocket expenses in connection with such solicitation.

Proxy Statement

Is my vote confidential?

Proxy instructions, ballots and voting tabulations that identify individual stockholders are handled in a manner that protects your voting privacy. Your vote will not be disclosed either within Palomar or to third parties, except as necessary to meet applicable legal requirements, to allow for the tabulation of votes and certification of the vote, or to facilitate a successful proxy solicitation.

I share an address with another stockholder, and we received only one paper copy of the Notice. How may I obtain an additional copy of the Notice?

We have adopted an SEC-approved procedure called “householding,” under which we can deliver a single copy of the Notice to multiple stockholders who share the same address unless we received contrary instructions from one or more of the stockholders. This procedure reduces our printing and mailing costs. Upon written or oral request, we will promptly deliver a separate copy of the Notice, and if applicable, the proxy materials, to any stockholder at a shared address to which we delivered a single copy of any of these documents. To receive a separate copy, or, if you are receiving multiple copies, to request that we only send a single copy of next year’s Notice, you may contact us as follows:

Stockholders who hold shares in street name may contact their brokerage firm, bank, broker-dealer or other nominee to request information about householding.

How can I find out the results of the voting at the Annual Meeting?

Preliminary voting results will be announced at the Annual Meeting. In addition, final voting results will be published in a Current Report on Form 8-K (“Form 8-K”) that we expect to file with the SEC within four business days after the Annual Meeting. If final voting results are not available to us at that time, we intend to file a Form 8-K with the SEC to publish preliminary results and, within four business days after the final results are known to us, file an amendment to the Form 8-K to publish the final results.

What is the deadline to propose actions for consideration at next year’s Annual Meeting of stockholders or to nominate individuals to serve as directors?

Stockholder Proposals

Stockholders may present proper proposals for inclusion in our proxy statement and for consideration at the next Annual Meeting of stockholders by submitting their proposals in writing to our Secretary in a timely manner. For a stockholder proposal to be considered for inclusion in our proxy statement for our 2025 Annual Meeting of stockholders, our Secretary must receive the written proposal at our principal executive offices not later than December 13, 2024. In addition, stockholder proposals must comply with the requirements of Rule 14a-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, regarding the inclusion of stockholder proposals in company-sponsored proxy materials.

Proxy Statement

Our bylaws also establish an advance notice procedure for stockholders who wish to present a proposal before an Annual Meeting of stockholders but do not intend for the proposal to be included in our proxy statement. Our bylaws provide that the only business that may be conducted at an Annual Meeting is business that is (i) specified in our proxy materials with respect to such meeting, (ii) otherwise properly brought before the Annual Meeting by or at the direction of our Board, or (iii) properly brought before the Annual Meeting by a stockholder of record entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting who has delivered timely written notice to our Secretary, which notice must contain the information specified in our bylaws. To be timely for our 2025 Annual Meeting of stockholders, our Secretary must receive the written notice at our principal executive offices:

In the event that we hold our 2025 Annual Meeting of stockholders more than 30 days before or more than 70 days after the first anniversary of the date of the Annual Meeting, then notice of a stockholder proposal that is not intended to be included in our proxy statement must be received no earlier than the close of business on the 120th day before such Annual Meeting and no later than the close of business on the later of the following two dates:

If a stockholder who has notified us of his, her or its intention to present a proposal at an Annual Meeting does not appear to present his, her or its proposal at such Annual Meeting, we are not required to present the proposal for a vote at such Annual Meeting.

Nomination of Director Candidates

You may propose director candidates for consideration by our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Any such recommendations should include the nominee’s name and qualifications for membership on our Board and should be directed to our Secretary at the address set forth above. For additional information regarding stockholder recommendations for director candidates, see “Board of Directors and Corporate Governance — Stockholder Recommendations for Nominations to the Board.”

In addition, our bylaws permit stockholders to nominate directors for election at an Annual Meeting of stockholders. To nominate a director, the stockholder must provide the information required by our bylaws. In addition, the stockholder must give timely notice to our Secretary in accordance with our bylaws, which, in general, require that the notice be received by our Secretary within the time period described above under “Stockholder Proposals” for stockholder proposals that are not intended to be included in a proxy statement.

In addition to satisfying the foregoing requirements under our bylaws, to comply with the universal proxy rules, stockholders who intend to solicit proxies in support of director nominees other than the Company’s nominees must provide notice that sets forth the information required by Rule 14a-19 under the Exchange Act by no later than March 24, 2025.

Availability of Bylaws

A copy of our bylaws may be obtained by accessing our public filings on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. You may also contact our Secretary at our principal executive office for a copy of the relevant bylaw provisions regarding the requirements for making stockholder proposals and nominating director candidates.

Board of Directors and Corporate Governance

Our business affairs are managed under the direction of our Board, which is currently comprised of seven members, six of which are “independent” under Nasdaq listing standards.

The Board is nominating three nominees for election as Class II directors. Our Board is divided into three classes with staggered three-year terms. At each Annual Meeting of stockholders, a class of directors will be elected for a three-year term to succeed the same class whose term is then expiring. In 2022, we amended our Certificate of Incorporation to provide that our directors will be elected for one-year terms, beginning with our 2027 Annual Meeting. Our Board of Directors has nominated Catriona M. Fallon, Daina Middleton, and Richard H. Taketa for election at the Annual Meeting, each to serve as Class II directors until the 2027 Annual Meeting of stockholders or until their successors are duly elected and qualified.

Our commitment to diversity extends to our Board of Directors, where more than 70% of our directors are either women or members of an underrepresented ethnic minority group.

The following charts set forth the ages, ethnic diversity, gender diversity, skills, and independence status of our Board as of April 2, 2024.

Board Composition

We have thoughtfully constructed our Board to advance our strategy.

Board of Directors and Corporate Governance

Board of Directors and Corporate Governance

DIVERSE LEADERSHIP IN KEY ROLES
Richard H. Taketa Chair of Compensation Committee	Catriona M. Fallon Chair of Audit Committee	Martha Notaras Chair of Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee	Daryl Bradley Chair of Enterprise Risk Management Committee	Daina Middleton Chair of Sustainability Committee

The table below details certain information for each of the nominees, the non-continuing directors whose terms expire at the Annual Meeting and the directors whose terms do not expire at the Annual Meeting.

I = Independent

N = Not independent

Board of Directors and Corporate Governance

Classified Board Structure

We currently have a classified Board. Following our 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, we amended and restated our Certificate of Incorporation to declassify the Board beginning with the 2027 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. This change provides for the annual election of all directors phased-in over a three-year period. With this change to our Certificate of Incorporation:

Corporate Governance Highlights

We regularly review our Board and corporate governance practices to ensure accountability and enhance boardroom effectiveness.

BOARD PRACTICES
	Annual Board and Committee evaluations
	6 of 7 Directors are independent
	5 of 7 Directors are women or members of underrepresented communities
	Quarterly updates on cybersecurity matters with Board
	Quarterly executive sessions held without management present

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE PRACTICES
	Independent Lead Director with significant responsibilities
	Annual Board elections in 2027 (phased approach)
	Majority vote standard in 2027

Board of Directors and Corporate Governance

Nominees for Director

Class II Directors for a term expiring at our 2027 Annual Meeting of stockholders

Board of Directors and Corporate Governance

Board of Directors and Corporate Governance

Continuing Directors

Class I Directors with a term expiring at our 2026 Annual Meeting of stockholders

Board of Directors and Corporate Governance

Class III Directors with a term expiring at our 2025 Annual Meeting of stockholders

Board of Directors and Corporate Governance 

Director Independence

Our Board has undertaken a review of the independence of each current director and determined that Mss. Fallon, Middleton, and Notaras and Messrs. D. Bradley, T. Bradley, and Taketa, representing six of our seven Directors, are “Independent” as defined under the rules of Nasdaq, and are Non-Employee Directors as defined in Rule 16b-3 of the Exchange Act.

Our Board also determined that Ms. Fallon (Chairperson), Mr. D. Bradley, Mr. T. Bradley, and Ms. Middleton, who currently comprise our Audit Committee, satisfy the listing standards of Nasdaq and the SEC for independence and service on our Audit Committee. Our Board also determined that Mr. Taketa (Chairperson), Ms. Middleton, and Ms. Notaras, who currently serve on our Compensation Committee, satisfy the independence standards for compensation committees established by SEC rules and the listing standards of Nasdaq. The Board has also determined that Ms. Notaras (Chairperson), Ms. Fallon and Mr. Taketa, who currently serve on our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, satisfy the independence standards for nominating committees established by applicable SEC rules and the listing standards of Nasdaq.

In evaluating the independence of Mss. Fallon, Middleton, and Notaras and Messrs. D. Bradley, T. Bradley, and Taketa, the Board considered their current and historical employment, any compensation we have given to them, any transactions we have with them, their beneficial ownership of our capital stock, their ability to exert control over us, all other material relationships they have had with us and the same facts with respect to their immediate family. The Board also considered all other relevant facts and circumstances known to it in making this independence determination.

Board Leadership Structure

Our Board of Directors recognizes that one of its key responsibilities is to evaluate and determine its optimal leadership structure to provide effective oversight of management. Our bylaws and corporate governance guidelines provide our Board of Directors with flexibility to combine or separate the positions of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. Our Board of Directors currently believes that our existing leadership structure, under which Mac Armstrong serves as our Chief Executive Officer and as our Chairman of the Board and Richard Taketa serves as our Lead Independent Director, is effective.

Board Meetings and Committees

During 2023, our Board held seven meetings (including regularly scheduled and special meetings), and each Director attended more than 75% of the aggregate of (i) the total number of meetings of our Board held during the period for which he or she served as a Director and (ii) the total number of meetings held by all Committees of our Board on which he or she served during the periods that he or she served.

It is the policy of our Board to regularly have separate meeting times for Independent Directors without management. Although we do not have a formal policy regarding attendance by members of our Board at Annual Meetings of stockholders, we encourage, but do not require, our directors to attend. Four directors serving on the Board as of the 2023 Annual Meeting were present.

Board of Directors and Corporate Governance 

Our Board currently has an Audit Committee, a Compensation Committee, a Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, a Sustainability Committee and an Enterprise Risk Management Committee. Each committee has the composition and responsibilities described below.

Name	Independent	Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee	Audit Committee	Compensation Committee	Sustainability Committee	Enterprise Risk Management Committee
Daryl Bradley			l		l	l
Thomas Bradley			l			l
Mac Armstrong					l	l
Martha Notaras		l		l	l	l
Catriona M. Fallon		l	l
Daina Middleton			l	l	l
Richard H. Taketa		l		l

l Chair     l Member

Board of Directors and Corporate Governance 

Board Role in Risk Oversight

Audit Committee		Reviews and discusses with management the Company’s major financial risk exposures as well as risk management policies
Compensation Committee		Monitors and assesses risks associated with the Company’s compensation strategy and policies
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee		Oversees management of risk associated with Board organization, membership and structure, CEO succession planning, and corporate governance
Sustainability Committee		Oversees reporting and disclosures with respect to Sustainability matters that may affect the business, operations, performance or public image of the Company
Enterprise Risk Management Committee		Assists in setting the Company’s general strategy with respect to enterprise risk management and cybersecurity, and to consider and recommend policies and practices that conform with the strategy

Board of Directors and Corporate Governance 

Audit Committee

The members of our Audit Committee are Catriona M. Fallon (Chairperson), Daryl Bradley, Thomas Bradley, and Daina Middleton. All members of our Audit Committee meet the requirements for financial literacy under the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC and the Nasdaq Marketplace Rules. Our Board of Directors has determined that Catriona M. Fallon is an Audit Committee financial expert as defined under the applicable rules of the SEC and has the requisite financial sophistication as defined under the applicable rules and regulations of the Nasdaq Stock Market. The Audit Committee oversees our corporate accounting and financial reporting process. Among other matters, the Audit Committee:

Our Audit Committee operates under a written charter that satisfies the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC and the listing requirements of Nasdaq. A copy of the charter of our Audit Committee is available on our website at www.plmr.com in the Governance section of our Investors webpage. During 2023, our Audit Committee held six meetings.

Board of Directors and Corporate Governance 

Compensation Committee

Our Compensation Committee consists of Mr. Taketa (Chairperson), Ms. Middleton and Ms. Notaras. Our Compensation Committee reviews and recommends policies relating to compensation and benefits of our officers and employees. Among other matters, the Compensation Committee:

Our Compensation Committee operates under a written charter that satisfies the listing standards of Nasdaq. A copy of the charter of our Compensation Committee is available on our website at www.plmr.com in the Governance section of our Investors webpage. The Compensation Committee held four meetings during 2023.

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

None of the members of our Compensation Committee during the last fiscal year (which includes Mr. Taketa (Chairperson), Ms. Middleton and Ms. Notaras) is or has at any time been an officer or employee of ours. None of our Executive Officers currently serves or in the past year has served as a member of the Board or Compensation Committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving on our Board or Compensation Committee.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee consists of Ms. Notaras (Chairperson), Ms. Fallon and Mr. Taketa. The principal duties and responsibilities of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee are as follows:

Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee operates under a written charter that satisfies the listing standards of Nasdaq. A copy of the charter of our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is available on our website at www.plmr.com in the Governance section of our Investors webpage. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee held four meetings during 2023.

Board of Directors and Corporate Governance 

Sustainability Committee

Our Sustainability Committee (formerly Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance Committee) consists of Ms. Middleton (Chairperson), Mr. Armstrong, Mr. D. Bradley, and Ms. Notaras. The principal duties and responsibilities of the Sustainability Committee are as follows:

Our Sustainability Committee operates under a written charter, a copy of which is available on our website at www.plmr.com in the Governance section of our Investors webpage. There were four meetings held by the Sustainability Committee during 2023.

Sustainability & Citizenship Report

In April 2024, we published our fourth annual Sustainability & Citizenship Report. This report reinforces our commitment to maintain a compassionate workplace by exceeding traditional sustainability standards and outlines meaningful steps the Company has taken to address a range of issues, including climate change, diversity, equity and inclusion, and corporate governance. A copy of our 2023 Sustainability & Corporate Citizenship Report can be found on our Sustainability portal at http://www.plmr.com/sustainability under the “Palomar Sustainability Resources” section.

Board of Directors and Corporate Governance 

Enterprise Risk Management Committee

Our Enterprise Risk Management (“ERM”) Committee consists of Mr. D. Bradley (Chairperson), Mr. T. Bradley, Mr. Armstrong, and Ms. Notaras. The principal duties and responsibilities of the ERM Committee are as follows:

Our ERM Committee operates under a written charter, a copy of which is available on our website at www.plmr.com in the Governance section of our Investors webpage. There were three meetings held by the ERM Committee during 2023.

Identifying and Evaluating Nominees for Director

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee use the following procedures to identify and evaluate any individual recommended or offered for nomination to the Board:

For Board membership, the criteria considered includes independence, diversity of experience, demonstrated leadership, and the ability to exercise sound judgment. The backgrounds and qualifications of the directors considered as a group should provide a significant breadth of experience, knowledge and abilities that shall assist the Board in fulfilling its responsibilities. Although there is no specific policy regarding diversity in identifying director nominees, both the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the Board seek the talents and backgrounds that would be most helpful to us in selecting director nominees. In particular, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, when recommending director candidates to the full Board of Directors for nomination, may consider whether a director candidate, if elected, assists in achieving a mix of Board of Directors members that represents a diversity of background and experience.

Board of Directors and Corporate Governance 

Stockholder Recommendations for Nominations to the Board

A stockholder that wishes to recommend a candidate for consideration by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee as a potential candidate for director must direct the recommendation in writing to Palomar Holdings, Inc., 7979 Ivanhoe Avenue, Suite 500, La Jolla, California 92037, Attention: Secretary, and must include the candidate’s name, home and business contact information, detailed biographical data, relevant qualifications, class and number of shares of our capital stock that are held by the nominee, a signed letter from the candidate confirming willingness to serve, information regarding any relationships between us and the candidate and evidence of the recommending stockholder’s ownership of our stock. Such recommendation must also include a statement from the recommending stockholder in support of the candidate, particularly within the context of the criteria for board membership, including issues of character, integrity, judgment, and diversity of experience, independence, area of expertise, corporate experience, potential conflicts of interest, other commitments and the like and personal references. Our Board will consider the recommendation but will not be obligated to take any further action with respect to the recommendation.

Communications with the Board of Directors

In cases where stockholders and other interested parties wish to communicate directly with our non-management directors, messages can be sent to our Secretary, at Palomar Holdings, Inc., 7979 Ivanhoe Avenue, Suite 500, La Jolla, California 92037, Attention: Secretary. Our Secretary monitors these communications and will provide a summary of all received messages to the Board at each regularly scheduled meeting of the Board. Our Board generally meets on a quarterly basis. Where the nature of a communication warrants, our Secretary may determine, in his or her judgment, to obtain the more immediate attention of the appropriate Committee of the Board or non-management director, of independent advisors or of Company management, as our Secretary considers appropriate.

Our Secretary may decide in the exercise of his or her judgment whether a response to any stockholder or interested party communication is necessary.

This procedure for stockholder and other interested party communications with the non-management directors is administered by the Company’s Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. This procedure does not apply to:

Board of Directors and Corporate Governance 

Corporate Governance Guidelines and Code of Conduct and Ethics

Our Board has adopted Corporate Governance Guidelines. These principles address items such as the qualifications and responsibilities of our directors and director candidates and corporate governance policies and standards applicable to us in general. In addition, our Board has adopted a Code of Conduct and Ethics that applies to all of our employees, officers, and directors, including our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and other executive and senior officers. The full text of our Corporate Governance Guidelines and our Code of Conduct and Ethics is posted on our website at www.plmr.com in the Governance section of our Investors webpage. We intend to post any amendments to our Code of Conduct and Ethics, and any waivers of our Code of Conduct and Ethics for directors and executive officers, on the same website within four business days of such amendment or waiver.

Board Oversight of Risk

Although management is responsible for the day-to-day management of the risks our company faces, our Board and its committees take an active role in overseeing management of our risks and have the ultimate responsibility for the oversight of risk management. The Board regularly reviews information regarding our operational, financial, legal, and strategic risks. Specifically, senior management attends quarterly meetings of the Board, provides presentations on operations including significant risks, and is available to address any questions or concerns raised by our Board.

In addition, our five Committees assist the Board in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities regarding risk. The Audit Committee coordinates the Board of Director’s oversight of our internal control over financial reporting, disclosure controls and procedures, related party transactions and code of conduct and corporate governance guidelines and management will regularly report to the Audit Committee on these areas. The Compensation Committee assists the Board of Directors in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities with respect to the management of risks arising from our compensation policies and programs. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee assists the Board of Directors in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities with respect to the management of risks associated with corporate governance, board organization, membership and structure, and succession planning for our directors and Chief Executive Officer. The Sustainability Committee assists the Board of Directors in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities with respect to the management of risks associated with sustainability, environmental, health and safety, corporate social responsibility, corporate governance, and other public matters relevant to the Company. The Enterprise Risk Management Committee assists the Board of Directors in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities with respect to the management of risks associated with enterprise risk management, cybersecurity and other major exposures facing the Company. When any of the committees receives a report related to material risk oversight, the chairman of the relevant committee will report on the discussion to the full Board of Directors.

Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports

To our knowledge, based solely on our review of the copies of such reports furnished to us and written representations to us, we believe that for fiscal 2023, all filing requirements applicable to the Company’s officers, directors and greater than 10% beneficial owners pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act, were complied with, other than the following:

Five form 4s were filed late relating to Mac Armstrong, Chris Uchida, Jon Christianson, Jon Knutzen, and Michelle Johnson. Each Form 4 was filed late on September 22, 2023 due to an administrative error and was related to the vesting of restricted stock on September 8, 2023, and, in the case of Mr. Armstrong, on September 8, 2023 and July 15, 2023.

Six form 4s were filed late relating to Mac Armstrong, Chris Uchida, Jon Christianson, Jon Knutzen, Michelle Johnson, and Angela Grant. Each Form 4 was filed late on February 2, 2024 due to an administrative error and was related to the 2023 LTI grants of restricted stock on January 31, 2023.

Board of Directors and Corporate Governance 

Director Compensation

We adopted a formal non-employee director compensation program effective January 1, 2021. The purpose of this compensation program is to attract and retain independent, qualified candidates to serve on the Board by providing competitive compensation and aligning the interest of our non-employee directors with those of our stockholders through long-term equity incentives. The Board makes all director compensation determinations after considering the recommendations of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the Compensation Committee. The Compensation Committee reviews director compensation annually, assisted periodically by its independent compensation consultant (most recently by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (“PwC”) in 2023).

In setting director compensation, we consider various factors including market comparison studies and trends, the responsibilities of directors generally, including committee chairs, and the significant amount of time that directors expend in fulfilling their duties. In establishing the non-employee director compensation recommendations, the Compensation Committee utilized a balance of cash and equity. Directors who also serve as employees of the Company do not receive additional compensation for service as directors. Elements of 2023 Director Compensation were as follows:

The following table sets forth information regarding compensation earned by our Non-Employee Directors for service on our Board of Directors and the board of directors of our subsidiaries during the year ended December 31, 2023. Directors who are also our employees receive no additional compensation for their service as a director. Thus, Mr. Armstrong’s compensation as a Named Executive Officer is discussed in the section “Executive Compensation-Compensation Discussion & Analysis.”

2023 Director Compensation Table

Proposal No. 1
Election of Directors 

Under our governing documents, our Board has the power to set the number of directors from time to time by resolution. We currently have seven authorized directors serving on our Board, of which six directors are “Independent” as defined under Nasdaq listing standards. In accordance with our certificate of incorporation, our Board is divided into three classes with staggered three-year terms. Any increase or decrease in the number of directors will be distributed among the three classes so that, as nearly as possible, each class will consist of one-third of our directors. This classification of our Board may have the effect of delaying or preventing changes in control of our company. In 2022, we amended and restated our certificate of incorporation to provide that our directors will be elected for one-year terms beginning with our 2027 Annual Meeting of stockholders.

At the Annual Meeting, three Class II directors will be elected for three-year terms. Based upon the recommendation of our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, our Board has nominated Catriona M. Fallon, Daina Middleton and Richard H. Taketa to stand for re-election by our stockholders, in each case for a three-year term expiring at our 2027 Annual Meeting of stockholders or until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified.

Nominees for Director

Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee has recommended, and our Board has approved, Catriona M. Fallon, Daina Middleton, and Richard H. Taketa as nominees for election as Class II directors at the Annual Meeting.

If elected, Catriona M. Fallon, Daina Middleton and Richard H. Taketa will serve as Class II directors until the 2027 Annual Meeting of stockholders or until their successors are duly elected and qualified. For information concerning the nominees, please see the section titled “Board of Directors and Corporate Governance.”

If you are a stockholder of record and you sign your proxy card or vote over the Internet or by telephone but do not give instructions with respect to the voting of directors, your shares will be voted FOR the election of Ms. Fallon, Ms. Middleton, and Mr. Taketa. We expect that Ms. Fallon, Ms. Middleton and Mr. Taketa will accept such nomination; however, in the event that a nominee is unable or declines to serve as a director at the time of the Annual Meeting, the proxies will be voted for any nominee who shall be designated by our Board to fill such vacancy. If you are a beneficial owner of shares of our common stock and you do not give voting instructions to your broker, bank, or other nominee, then your broker, bank or other nominee will leave your shares unvoted on this matter.

Vote Required

The election of the Class II directors requires a plurality of the votes cast by stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting thereon to be approved. Abstentions and broker non-votes will have no effect on the election of directors.

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE “FOR” THE ELECTION OF THE DIRECTORS NOMINATED BY OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND NAMED IN THIS PROXY STATEMENT AS CLASS II DIRECTORS TO SERVE FOR THREE-YEAR TERMS.

Proposal No. 2
Advisory Vote to Approve Named Executive Officer
Compensation (“Say-On-Pay-Vote”) 

We are asking our stockholders to approve, on a non-binding advisory basis, the compensation of our Named Executive Officers (which consist of our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and our next three highest paid executives) as described in detail in the section of this Proxy Statement titled “Executive Compensation.” We urge stockholders to carefully read the “2023 Summary Compensation Table” and related compensation tables that follow it.

Our executive compensation program utilizes a pay for performance approach. Our executive compensation program is designed to deliver compensation in accordance with Company performance with a large percentage of compensation at risk through long-term equity awards and annual cash incentive awards. These awards are “at risk” and linked to Company performance, consistent with our belief that a significant amount of executive compensation should be in the form of equity and that an even greater percentage of compensation should be tied to performance for executives who bear higher levels of responsibility for our performance. Approximately 73% of our CEO’s 2023 total direct compensation and approximately 58% of the average 2023 total direct compensation of our other Named Executive Officers, was at-risk, consisting of annual bonus, PSUs and RSUs. Additionally, the Compensation Committee engaged with an independent global executive compensation consulting firm, PwC, to advise the Committee on matters related to executive compensation.

Our Board and the Compensation Committee believe that the compensation policies and procedures described in this Proxy Statement are effective in achieving our compensation objectives. Therefore, in accordance with Section 14A of the Exchange Act, we ask our stockholders to approve, on a non-binding advisory basis, the compensation of the Named Executive Offices, as described in “Executive Compensation - Compensation Discussion and Analysis”, the 2023 Summary Compensation Table and the related compensation tables notes in this Proxy Statement for our 2024 Annual Meeting of the Stockholders.

Vote Required

The approval of the Named Executive Officers compensation requires the affirmative majority of votes cast. Abstentions and broker non-votes will have no effect on the vote for this proposal.

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE “FOR” THE COMPENSATION OF THE NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS, AS DESCRIBED IN THIS PROXY STATEMENT.

Proposal No. 3
Ratification of Appointment of Independent
Registered Public Accounting Firm  

Ratification of Appointment

At the Annual Meeting, stockholders are being asked to ratify the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for our fiscal year ending December 31, 2024. Stockholder ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP is not required by our bylaws or other applicable legal requirements. However, our Board is submitting the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP to our stockholders for ratification as a matter of good corporate governance. In the event that this appointment is not ratified by the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares present in person or by proxy at the Annual Meeting and entitled to vote, such appointment will be reconsidered by our Audit Committee. Even if the appointment is ratified, our Audit Committee, in its sole discretion, may appoint another independent registered public accounting firm at any time during our fiscal year ending December 31, 2024, if our Audit Committee believes that such a change would be in the best interests of Palomar and its stockholders. If the appointment is not ratified by our stockholders, the Audit Committee may reconsider whether it should appoint another independent registered public accounting firm. A representative of Ernst & Young LLP is expected to be present at the Annual Meeting, will have an opportunity to make a statement if he or she wishes to do so, and is expected to be available to respond to appropriate questions from stockholders.

Fees Paid to the Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

The following table presents fees for professional audit services and other services rendered to us by Ernst & Young LLP for our fiscal years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

Auditor Independence

In 2023, there were no other professional services provided by Ernst & Young LLP that would have required our Audit Committee to consider their compatibility with maintaining the independence of Ernst & Young LLP.

Proposal No. 3
Ratification of Appointment of Independent
Registered Public Accounting Firm

Audit Committee Policy on Pre-Approval of Audit and Permissible Non-Audit Services of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

Our Audit Committee has established a policy governing our use of the services of our independent registered public accounting firm. Under the policy, our Audit Committee is required to pre-approve all audit and permissible non-audit services performed by our independent registered public accounting firm to ensure that the provision of such services does not impair such accounting firm’s independence. All fees paid to Ernst & Young LLP for our fiscal years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 were pre-approved by our Audit Committee.

Vote Required

The ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP requires the affirmative majority of votes cast. Abstentions and broker non-votes will have no effect.

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE “FOR” THE RATIFICATION OF THE APPOINTMENT OF ERNST & YOUNG LLP AS OUR INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM FOR OUR FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2024.

Audit Committee Report

The information contained in the following Audit Committee Report shall not be deemed to be soliciting material or to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, nor shall such information be incorporated by reference into any future filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, except to the extent that Palomar Holdings, Inc., or the Company, specifically incorporates it by reference in such filing.

The Audit Committee serves as the representative of the Board with respect to its oversight of:

The Audit Committee also reviews the performance of our independent registered public accounting firm, Ernst & Young LLP, in the annual audit of our financial statements and in assignments unrelated to the audit and reviews the independent registered public accounting firm’s fees.

The members of the Audit Committee are currently Catriona M. Fallon (Chairperson), Daryl Bradley, Thomas Bradley, and Daina Middleton. Each of the members of the Audit Committee is an “independent director” as currently defined in the applicable Nasdaq and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) rules. The Board of Directors has also determined that Ms. Fallon is an “Audit Committee financial expert” as described in applicable rules and regulations of the SEC.

The Audit Committee provides our Board such information and materials as it may deem necessary to make our Board aware of financial matters requiring the attention of our Board. The Audit Committee reviews our financial disclosures and meets privately, outside the presence of our management, with our independent registered public accounting firm. In fulfilling its oversight responsibilities, the Audit Committee reviewed and discussed the audited financial statements in our 2023 Annual Report with management, including a discussion of the quality and substance of the accounting principles, the reasonableness of significant judgments made in connection with the audited financial statements, and the clarity of disclosures in the financial statements. The Audit Committee reports on these meetings to our Board.

The Audit Committee has reviewed and discussed the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements with management and Ernst & Young LLP, the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm. The Audit Committee has discussed with Ernst & Young LLP the matters required to be discussed by Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Auditing Standard No. 1301 (Communications with Audit Committees) and the SEC.

The Audit Committee has received and reviewed the written disclosures and the letter from Ernst & Young LLP required by the applicable requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding Ernst & Young LLP’s communications with the Audit Committee concerning independence and has discussed with Ernst & Young LLP its independence.

Based on the review and discussions referred to above, the Audit Committee recommended to the Board of Directors that the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements be included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 for filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Audit Committee also has selected Ernst & Young LLP as the independent registered public accounting firm for fiscal year 2024. The Board recommends that stockholders ratify this selection at the Annual Meeting.

Respectfully submitted by the members of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors:

Catriona M. Fallon (Chair)

Daryl Bradley
Thomas Bradley
Daina Middleton

Executive Officers

The following table identifies certain information about our executive officers as of April 2, 2024. Each executive officer serves at the discretion of our Board and holds office until their successors are duly elected and qualified or until their earlier resignation or removal. There are no family relationships among any of our directors or executive officers.

		Mac Armstrong Mr. Armstrong has served as our Chief Executive Officer and a Director since February 2014 and Chairman of our Board of Directors since June 2020. Prior to joining our company, Mr. Armstrong served as the President of Arrowhead General Insurance Agency, which he joined in June 2009, previously holding the positions of Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Armstrong led the sale of Arrowhead to Brown & Brown, Inc. in January 2012. Mr. Armstrong’s prior experience includes Spectrum Equity Investors, a private equity investment firm where he led the insurance investing practice and Alex. Brown & Sons/ BT Alex. Brown Inc., an investment bank acquired by Deutsche Bank. Mr. Armstrong earned an A.B. from Princeton University. Mr. Armstrong is a member of the Board of Advisors of Cloverlay Investment Management LLC, a private equity investment firm and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Bishop’s School.

		Chris Uchida Mr. Uchida has served as our Chief Financial Officer since September 2017 and our Corporate Secretary from March 2019 to February 2021. Mr. Uchida previously served as our Senior Vice President, Operations from June 2015 through September 2017. Prior to joining our company, Mr. Uchida served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer at Arrowhead, which he joined in October 2004. Prior to joining Arrowhead, he was a Tax Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Mr. Uchida earned a B.S. and M.S. from San Diego State University and is a California Certified Public Accountant.

Executive Officers

		Jon Christianson Mr. Christianson has served as our President since April 2022. Prior to that he served as our Chief Underwriting Officer from August 2020 to April 2022, and as our Chief Operating Officer since joining our company in February 2014 to September 2020. Prior to joining our company, Mr. Christianson served as a Vice President of Holborn Corporation from April 2010 to December 2013. Mr. Christianson started his career with John B. Collins Associates in Minneapolis in 2002, where he serviced both casualty and property business. Mr. Christianson earned a B.A. in Economics from St. Olaf College.

		Jon Knutzen Mr. Knutzen has served as our Chief Risk Officer since joining Palomar in April 2019. Prior to joining our Company, Mr. Knutzen was a Partner at TigerRisk Partners from May 2017 to April 2019 where he led the firm’s Property Specialty and Reinsurance Solutions Practice. Prior to this position, Mr. Knutzen was an Executive Vice President at BMS Intermediaries from September 2016 to March 2017 and a Partner at Advocate Reinsurance Partners (acquired by BMS Intermediaries) from March 2015 to September 2016. Prior to this position, Mr. Knutzen served as Property Specialty Practice leader at TigerRisk from April 2013 to March 2015. Prior to TigerRisk, Mr. Knutzen held various leadership positions with reinsurance intermediaries Holborn Corporation, Guy Carpenter, and John B Collins Associates. Mr. Knutzen earned a B.S. from South Dakota State University.

		Angela Grant Ms. Grant has served as our Chief Legal Officer since November 2020 and our Corporate Secretary since February 2021. Additionally, Ms. Grant has also served as Interim Chief Talent Officer since February 2024. Prior to joining our Company, Ms. Grant served as Chief Legal and Innovation Officer at CSE Insurance Group (“CSE”) from January 2019 to November 2020. Prior to joining CSE, Ms. Grant was Head of Compliance & Legal at Hippo Insurance from April 2017 to January 2019. In addition to her legal and compliance background, past leadership roles at Esurance, Kemper, and GEICO burnished her credentials in building compliant business models, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and strategy. Ms. Grant earned a J.D. from Texas A&M University School of Law and a B.B.A. in Business Administration from University of North Texas.

Executive Officer Diversity

Compensation Discussion and Analysis

This Compensation Discussion and Analysis (“CD&A”) provides information on the goals and objectives of our executive compensation program including Palomar’s total rewards philosophy, which focuses on rewarding team members for their central role in our continued growth and success. While the principles underlying this philosophy extend to all levels of the organization, this CD&A primarily covers the compensation provided to our named executive officers (“NEOs”).

For 2023, our NEOs consisted of the following individuals:

Compensation Discussion and Analysis

Executive Summary

Business Overview and Summary of 2023 Financial Results

We are a specialty insurance company that provides property and casualty insurance products to individuals and businesses. Founded in 2014, we have significantly grown our business and have generated attractive returns. We have organically increased gross written premiums from $16.6 million in our first year of operations to $1.1 billion for the year ended December 31, 2023, which reflects a compound annual growth rate of approximately 60%. We have also been profitable since 2016 and our net income growth since 2016 reflects a compound annual growth rate of 43%.

The below points highlight our fiscal year 2023 performance:

(1) This is a Non-GAAP Financial Measure; see Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures in Appendix A.

Historical Shareholder Returns

The below table compares the cumulative total shareholder return of an investment in our common stock compared to the Nasdaq Insurance Index and our 2023 peer group (as listed below) for the period from April 17, 2019 (the date our common stock began trading on Nasdaq) through December 31, 2023.

We believe our well-structured executive compensation programs that are rooted in a pay-for-performance philosophy have aided in focusing management behavior on achieving rigorous performance objectives that contribute to long-term shareholder value creation.

Compensation Discussion and Analysis

Shareholder Feedback and Engagement

Annually, shareholders can vote to approve our executive compensation program on an advisory basis. We had a highly successful say-on-pay result in 2023, with more than 91% of votes cast in favor of our say-on-pay proposal. The result was a strong affirmation of our shareholder outreach efforts and the enhancements we made to our executive compensation program and governance practices in response to stockholder feedback.

We believe soliciting shareholder feedback is important, and we engage with shareholders annually. Accordingly, in the fourth quarter of 2023, we initiated subsequent efforts to engage with our stockholders and solicit their feedback on executive compensation, corporate governance, and sustainability matters.

Who We Contacted

Palomar Representatives Who Participated in Shareholder Meetings

Additionally, we conducted briefing calls with proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis to review their updated policy guidelines and their overall approach to proxy analysis.

Key Shareholder Feedback

During our shareholder outreach efforts that we initiated in the fourth quarter of 2023, our stockholders reaffirmed their support of the recent enhancements we made to our executive compensation program, notably highlighting the following:

Consistent with our shareholders’ significant support of our 2023 advisory say-on-pay vote, they affirmed their desire for us to maintain the 2023 program enhancements for our 2024 executive compensation program.

Compensation Discussion and Analysis

Compensation Philosophy, Process and Objectives

We have adopted a pay-for-performance compensation philosophy through which we seek to provide a competitive total rewards package aimed at attracting, retaining, and incentivizing a high-performing executive team and geared toward the future growth and success of the Company. We continuously refine our pay-for-performance practices to ensure we align our compensation offerings with the interests of our stockholders. At the beginning of a fiscal period, our Compensation Committee sets Company and individual performance targets which determine the target opportunity with respect to annual cash incentive and LTI equity awards that our executives will receive. If our Company performance exceeds the pre-established targets, our executives will earn additional cash-based and equity compensation. Conversely, if Company performance falls below pre-established goals, that generally will result in payment of below target compensation.

Our overall total rewards philosophy has five Guiding Principles:

Role of the Compensation Committee

Our Compensation Committee is responsible for evaluating and approving the overall executive officer compensation philosophy and programs. All members of our Compensation Committee are independent as required by Nasdaq and are “non-employee directors” as defined by Rule 16b-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Our Compensation Committee’s responsibilities include, among other things, the following:

Compensation Discussion and Analysis

Additionally, our Compensation Committee Chair leads our annual shareholder outreach campaign, which we discussed in detail above in the Executive Summary section of the CD&A.

Role of Management

Although the Compensation Committee has the responsibility to approve compensation for our NEOs, management also plays a role in the executive compensation process. Specifically, our CEO is involved in the design and implementation of our executive compensation program as it applies to his direct reports. He is typically present at Compensation Committee meetings, except that he is not present when the Compensation Committee deliberates or votes on his compensation arrangements in executive session. Our CEO reviews the individual performance of each executive officer annually and makes recommendations to our Compensation Committee regarding their compensation arrangements.

Role of the Independent Compensation Committee Consultant

Our Compensation Committee has the authority, in its sole discretion, to retain and terminate compensation consultants, outside legal counsel and other advisors as it deems necessary to fulfill its duties and responsibilities under its charter. For 2023, the Compensation Committee engaged PwC as its independent compensation consultant to support our executive and Board compensation offerings. PwC typically provides the Compensation Committee with advice and guidance on the following topic areas (although some of these areas may not always be provided annually):

PwC has attended certain Compensation Committee meetings and attends executive sessions when requested by the Chairperson of the Compensation Committee. The Compensation Committee has reviewed the independence of PwC considering SEC rules and Nasdaq listing standards regarding compensation consultants and has concluded that the work of PwC for the Compensation Committee does not raise any conflict of interest.

Compensation Discussion and Analysis

Peer Group Benchmarking Analysis

To ensure that our executive compensation program is competitive and allows us to meet our objective of attracting, retaining, and motivating a high-performing executive team, the Compensation Committee, with the assistance from PwC’s compensation consulting practice, has established a peer group to benchmark executive compensation data and practices. For 2023 benchmarking purposes, our peer group consisted of the following 18 public companies, which are insurance companies deemed to be of similar size and scope when considering Palomar’s weighted positioning of market capitalization and gross written premiums:

The Compensation Committee has benchmarked our executive compensation against these companies for purposes of establishing our 2023 compensation program and reviewed the overall peer compensation information to understand how our NEO’s total compensation compares to competitive norms.

To ensure our peer group continues to remain representative of the competitive landscape in which we operate and is appropriate from a size standpoint, we annually review the peer group and adjust if appropriate. For 2024 benchmarking purposes, after conducting a review of the prevailing competitive market with the assistance of our compensation consultant, the Compensation Committee modified the peer group to consist of the below 16 public companies. As part of the process of determining the benchmarking peer group for 2024, we again considered Palomar’s weighted positioning of market capitalization and gross written premiums to ensure we maintain an appropriate comparator group from a size standpoint.

Compensation Discussion and Analysis

Changes made to the 2024 benchmarking peer group included the following:

Compensation Elements Used to Achieve Compensation Philosophy and Objectives

The Compensation Committee annually determines our pay mix with guidance from its independent consultant and a review of prevailing market norms and trends. We design the mix of our pay elements to foster and promote our pay-for-performance culture, to support our strategic priorities of growth and to attract, retain and motivate our executives. The elements of our 2023 compensation mix and rationale for using and determining each are set forth as follows:

Compensation Discussion and Analysis

2023 Compensation Program Overview

2023 Target Compensation and Pay Mix

Our Compensation Committee establishes target total compensation opportunities for our executives at the beginning of each year. Consistent with our pay-for-performance philosophy, the majority of each executive’s pay mix is in the form of at-risk compensation. Executives have the opportunity to earn above-target pay if they deliver company and individual performance at levels above target, and conversely their earned pay will be below target in cases where performance achievement is below target, thereby ensuring our pay is aligned with performance. For 2023, the target total compensation opportunities for NEOs was as follows:

Our target pay mix for 2023 for our CEO and average all other NEOs reflected an increase in at-risk pay over 2022 and was comprised of the following elements:

Compensation Discussion and Analysis

Compensation Decisions Related to 2023

Base Salaries

We believe it is important to pay our executives a competitive base salary to provide them a predictable level of income. Each NEO’s annual base salary is subject to periodic review by the Compensation Committee. In establishing base salaries, we consider several factors, including market data for similar positions as provided by PwC, the duties and responsibilities of the position, and the performance of the executive. NEOs do not receive automatic merit increases to their base salaries. Rather, in line with our pay-for-performance philosophy, the base salaries of our NEOs are reviewed annually by the Committee to determine whether an adjustment is warranted.

For 2023, base salaries for our Named Executive Officers were as follows:

Our Compensation Committee and CEO determined that no increase would be made to the CEO’s salary for 2023, representing the second consecutive year that our CEO’s salary remained unchanged.

Our other NEOs received base salary increases ranging from 5.9% to 8.6% based on a review of their role, performance and our peer group benchmarking data as provided by PwC. Their increases were generally aimed at better aligning their base salaries with market levels as represented by our peer group.

Annual Incentive Plan

A second key component in our compensation framework is our AIP, which is our annual cash bonus program. Our AIP has the potential to reward our NEOs for the achievement of rigorous financial, strategic, and operational performance objectives over an annual period. Each NEO was eligible to participate in our AIP for 2023, which was capped at a maximum payout of 200% of target for the year. The Compensation Committee oversees the AIP, evaluates the individual performance component, and approves the bonus payments of each NEO. Bonus awards are payable in cash by no later than March 15th of the year following the performance year.

Guided by our pay-for-performance philosophy, the table below summarizes the performance metrics used to determine the 2023 annual cash incentives, the weighting of each metric, and the threshold, target, and maximum payout hurdles:

Compensation Discussion and Analysis

Our company financial performance objectives for 2023 were set at 85% of target for Threshold to 125% of target for Maximum, thereby requiring significant outperformance to attain the plan Maximum. Payouts under the 2023 AIP range from 50% at Threshold to 200% at Maximum, with no bonuses earned for performance below Threshold.

Pre-Tax Adjusted Net Income and Pre-Tax Adjusted Net Income Before Catastrophe Losses

Pre-Tax ANI, both gross and net of catastrophe losses, is representative of our underwriting and investing profits. We believe that sustained performance and growth in these metrics will translate to long-term shareholder value creation, and accordingly, our Compensation Committee allocated a 40% weighting to both pre-tax ANI and pre-tax ANI before catastrophe losses.

Based on our 2023 financial results, and as compared to the AIP 2023 target goals, our pre-tax ANI and pre-tax ANI before catastrophe losses correlated to the following payout percentages:

During 2023, our actual results exceed the targets due to strong underwriting and investment performance driven by higher earned premiums and underwriting income and higher investment returns versus our initial plan.

Management by Objectives (“MBO”)

In addition to Company financial measures, our Compensation Committee also believes it is important to hold our executive officers accountable for performance and objectives tied directly to their roles and areas of responsibility. Accordingly, we have included a 20% allocation under our AIP to MBOs, to reward individual performance where appropriate. For 2023, the objectives below serve as a framework to broadly assess NEO’s strategic accomplishments and should not be interpreted as an exhaustive list of achievements.