Why Isn’t the HPIA listed in Best’s Rating Guide?

The HPIA is a nonprofit unincorporated association of all licensed insurers authorized to write property and casualty insurance in Hawaii. Created originally by the 1991 Hawaii State Legislature to provide basic property insurance for persons unable to purchase homeowners coverage in the private market due to the ongoing volcanic eruption in Lava Zones 1 and 2 on the island of Hawaii; today the HPIA provides stability in the property insurance market by assuring the availability of basic property insurance for property located in the State.

Each licensed property and casualty insurer is required to be a member of the HPIA as a condition of their authority to transact business in the State. The member insurer participates in the writings, expenses, profits, and losses of the HPIA in proportion to their market share of property and casualty insurance written in Hawaii. As such, the HPIA is not an insurance company.

The Best’s Rating Guide gives all insurance companies that have capital and surplus with either private or public stock ownership a financial rating based on financial factors such as profitability, liquidity, adequacy of reserves, etc., so that the business community can determine a given company’s financial strength or weakness. Being that the HPIA is not an insurance company, it is not evaluated by the Best’s Rating Guide.