First Insurance Company of Hawaii

Carrier appetite summary

No formal public homeowners underwriting, appetite, or producer manual is posted on FICOH’s site as of this refresh. Available content is largely marketing-oriented and supplemented hurricane information, so operational guidance below is inferred and should be treated as directional only, not as a binding rule set. Preferred / target business - Owner-occupied 1–4 family homes and condo units in Hawaii needing a standard homeowners policy (HO-style) with bundled options for auto and umbrella. - Risks looking for combined home-auto packages (FirstSelect Portfolio and other bundle options) to maximize pricing and coverage efficiency. - Homes seeking broad property coverage (fire, theft, natural disaster) and personal liability, with interest in value-added coverages such as equipment breakdown and optional umbrella limits. - Customers working through independent local agents; the site is structured to direct homeowners to “Find an Agent” for tailored placements, implying an agency-driven, selectively underwritten book. Geographic notes - FICOH writes personal homeowners only in Hawaii. Policygenius’ independent review confirms that home insurance policies with FICOH are available solely in Hawaii, aligning with FICOH’s positioning as a Hawaii-domiciled carrier focused on the local market. - Hurricane coverage is handled as a companion policy or package addition and is specific to Hawaii’s catastrophe exposure profile. FICOH explicitly notes it re-entered the residential hurricane market and that hurricane insurance is available only when paired with a FICOH homeowners/dwelling fire policy or FICOH home–auto package. Coverage and product structure - Core homeowners policy: property coverage against common perils (theft, fire, various natural disasters), personal liability for guest injuries, and additional living expenses consistent with standard HO policy structure. The public homeowners page references property and liability protection but not detailed limits or forms; agents must confirm exact forms (e.g., HO-3 vs. others) and endorsements. - Complimentary equipment breakdown coverage: included for select appliances, home entertainment systems, air conditioning and similar equipment on homeowners policies; this is likely subject to sublimits and specific terms. - Optional personal umbrella: available as an excess liability option; exact attachment requirements (minimum underlying limits, acceptable loss history) are not published and should be confirmed with underwriting. - Hurricane insurance: available as a separate but companion policy or as part of a bundled FirstSelect-type package, with blanket limits that combine dwelling, other structures, personal property, loss of use, and hurricane into a single limit rather than separate buckets. Restricted / declined business (inferred) Because FICOH does not publicly post class-by-class restrictions, agents should assume the following typically require review or may be restricted and must consult underwriting: - Non-owner-occupied dwellings placed on a homeowners form (vs. dwelling fire or other program). - High-catastrophe exposures outside FICOH’s modeled or reinsurance tolerances (e.g., extreme hurricane or coastal exposures where FICOH’s appetite is constrained by aggregate management, even within Hawaii). - Properties with significant existing damage, poor maintenance, or adverse loss history; these are almost certainly subject to underwriter review prior to binding. - Unusual occupancy types, business use in the home, or short-term rentals may not fit a standard homeowners appetite and should be referred. Submission and binding expectations (producer-facing, inferred) - Business is written via independent agents; the consumer-facing site routes prospects to local agents or to a quote request form that forwards to an agent. Producers must be appointed with FICOH or work through an appointed general agency. - For homeowners with hurricane, producers should: - Confirm that a FICOH homeowners or dwelling fire policy is in place or being bound concurrently; hurricane is marketed as a companion to an in-force FICOH property policy or package. - Coordinate effective dates so there is no gap between HO and hurricane cover. - Quoting is initiated either by: - online lead/quote request form on the homeowners page, feeding to an agent, or - direct agent rating/quoting in FICOH’s systems (details not public). Agents should follow internal rate/quote workflows and any binding bulletins (e.g., hurricane binding suspensions) communicated through agency channels. Broker / producer notes - FICOH distributes products through a network of independent general agencies; producers generally access FICOH via these agencies rather than direct retail appointment. - The public site and news releases emphasize the need to contact an independent agent for homeowners and hurricane placements; producers should expect underwriting decisions and appetite guidance to be driven centrally from FICOH and communicated through these agency relationships and bulletins, rather than via a static published manual. - For residential hurricane, FICOH previously partnered with another carrier and has since taken the book back, stressing a "strong and sustainable" program under its own paper. Agents should watch for and comply with any current underwriting bulletins regarding hurricane deductibles, construction standards, and mitigation requirements; these are not posted publicly but will govern risk selection. Operational caveat - Because FICOH does not publish detailed homeowners underwriting or risk appetite criteria online, any placement decisions should be confirmed with your FICOH underwriter or general agency. Treat this summary as a high-level description of how FICOH positions its homeowners and hurricane offerings in Hawaii, not as a substitute for carrier-filed manuals or internal underwriting guides.

Referenced source pages