The prior year Say on Pay vote received approximately 68% support, which is below the 70% threshold that triggers scrutiny under the policy — the company is required to show visible changes or engagement. HCI does demonstrate meaningful engagement: the proxy discloses outreach to shareholders representing 72% of shares, direct dialog with holders of over 50% of shares, and a reaffirmation of pay-for-performance alignment; the Compensation Committee also notes it considered the vote result. On pay level, the CEO's total reported compensation of $8.24 million — which is notably lower than the prior year's $20.2 million due to the absence of a large equity grant — compares reasonably to the company-disclosed core peer group average of $9.3 million and overall peer group average of $9.9 million, and a portion of the CEO's $6.95 million bonus reflects a one-time Exzeo IPO payment from a separately governed subsidiary. On pay-for-performance alignment, HCI's 3-year total shareholder return of +205.8% ranks at the 100th percentile of its peer group per the company's own Pay vs. Performance disclosure, and the 5-year return of +132.9% also significantly outperforms peers — variable pay above benchmark is therefore well-justified by exceptional shareholder returns. The compensation structure includes a clawback policy and strong equity alignment through market-based vesting conditions, supporting a FOR vote despite the below-70% prior-year result.

Non-audit fees for 2025 were zero (all other fees were also zero), meaning 100% of fees paid were core audit fees — the non-audit fee ratio is 0%, well below the 50% threshold that would raise independence concerns. Auditor tenure is not disclosed in the proxy, so per policy the tenure trigger cannot fire and the vote defaults to FOR with a minor note of the disclosure gap. No material restatements are disclosed.