Hippo Holdings Inc. has restructured its reinsurance program for 2026, consolidating from program-level arrangements into a single corporate-level catastrophe structure effective June 1 that manages risk across all lines of business - including both property and casualty programs - as one portfolio.
A whole account quota share is a proportional reinsurance arrangement under which the insurer and reinsurer split premiums and losses across an entire book at a fixed percentage, rather than isolating a single program. For cedants, the structure provides capital relief and smooths earnings across the full portfolio, removing the need for line-by-line reinsurance negotiation.
The structural shift was driven in part by the scale of Hippo's casualty and commercial lines expansion. Casualty gross written premium grew 92% to $264 million in 2025, and commercial multi-peril premium rose 75% to $265 million. Managing those lines under separate treaties had become less practical as the portfolio expanded.
President and CEO Rick McCathron said the group approach matched how the company actually operates. "Moving to a group catastrophe structure is the right architecture for a business that manages risk at the portfolio level, not program by program," he said. "We've secured meaningful protection, improved our capital efficiency, and brought in new tools like the whole account quota share that give us flexibility as we grow."
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The 2026 program carries a first event coverage limit of $513 million and an aggregate reinsurance coverage limit of $777 million. Hippo secured those terms at a 15% to 20% rate decrease relative to reinsurers' risk-adjusted flat pricing - a result consistent with broader market conditions. Dedicated reinsurance capital reached approximately $501 billion at year-end 2025, up 8% year-on-year, driving a 14.7% average decline in risk-adjusted global property-catastrophe rates at the January 2026 renewals, according to Howden.
The program also produced a net probable maximum loss reduction of between 31% and 36% across return periods from the 20-year to the 100-year - a material improvement in Hippo's tail risk exposure that directly strengthens its capital position against low-frequency, high-severity events. All participating reinsurers hold an A- or better rating from AM Best, or are fully collateralized.
The program includes the renewal of Hippo's Mountain Re catastrophe bond for a three-year term, with wildfire exposure added to the bond's coverage this year - an expansion that reflects the peril's growing frequency and severity across the US insurance market, where wildfire has become a year-round concern rather than a seasonal one.
Consolidating to a group-level structure also reduced the number of separate renewal events Hippo manages each year. For a carrier whose casualty and commercial lines have more than doubled in premium volume over the past 12 months, the operational efficiency gains from a single renewal cycle are as meaningful as the capital benefits the new structure delivers.
