Proxy Statement (Form DEF 14A)

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

Check the appropriate box:

AMERICAN COASTAL INSURANCE CORPORATION

(Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

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

Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):

AMERICAN COASTAL INSURANCE CORPORATION

570 Carillon Parkway, Suite 100

St. Petersburg, FL 33716

April 1, 2026

Dear Stockholder:

You are cordially invited to attend the Annual Meeting of Stockholders of American Coastal Insurance Corporation ("ACIC", the "Company", "us", "our", and "we"), which will be held online at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/ACIC2026 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, May 26, 2026 via live audio webcast. The meeting will only be conducted via a live webcast. Even though our meeting is being held virtually, stockholders will still have the ability to participate in, hear and ask questions during our meeting.

Important information about the matters to be acted upon at the meeting is included in the accompanying notice and proxy statement. Our 2025 annual report, which we are making available to you along with the proxy statement, contains information about us and our performance.

Kind regards,

/s/ B. Bradford Martz

B. Bradford Martz

President and Chief Executive Officer

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

TO BE HELD ON MAY 26, 2026

WE HEREBY GIVE NOTICEthat the 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders ("Annual Meeting") of American Coastal Insurance Corporation will be held online at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/ACIC2026 at 1:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, via live audio webcast, for the following purposes:

Our Board of Directors ("Board") recommends that our stockholders vote FORthe election of each of the Class B director nominees named above, and FORthe ratification of the appointment of Deloitte as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2026.

Holders of shares of our common stock at the close of business on March 27, 2026 (the "Record Date") are entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the Annual Meeting and at any adjournment or postponement that may take place. A list of stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting will be made available for the examination of any stockholder for any purpose germane to the meeting for ten days prior to the Annual Meeting by email request to [email protected].

We cordially invite you to electronically attend the Annual Meeting. This year's virtual meeting will be held via live webcast on the Internet. You will be able to attend the Annual Meeting, vote and submit questions during the meeting from any remote location that has Internet connectivity by visiting www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/ACIC2026.

Your vote is extremely important. We appreciate your taking the time to vote promptly. After reading the accompanying proxy statement, please vote at your earliest convenience by Internet or by mailing your completed proxy card. Instructions regarding the voting methods are described in the accompanying proxy statement.

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING THE AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS FOR THE STOCKHOLDER MEETING TO BE HELD ON MAY 26, 2026.

To access our Proxy Statement for the 2026 Annual Meeting of

Stockholders and our 2025 Annual Report, please visit

http://www.proxyvote.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS

AMERICAN COASTAL INSURANCE CORPORATION

PROXY STATEMENT FOR 2026 ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

GENERAL INFORMATION

CONCERNING THE ANNUAL MEETING AND VOTING

You are invited to attend ACIC's Annual Meeting. This proxy statement ("Proxy Statement") contains information about the Annual Meeting, including meeting logistics, matters up for vote, how to vote and answers to other frequently asked questions. The Notice of Annual Meeting of Stockholders is first being mailed to stockholders on or about April 16, 2026. The Notice provides stockholders with instructions on how to access the proxy materials online or request a paper or email copy, the proposals to be voted on at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders and instructions on how to vote.

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VIRTUAL ANNUAL MEETING FAQs

May stockholders ask questions at the virtual Annual Meeting?

Yes. As part of the Annual Meeting, we will hold a live question and answer session, during which we intend to answer all questions submitted during the meeting that are pertinent to the Company and meeting matters, in accordance with the Annual Meeting's Rules of Conduct, as time permits.

What if I have technical difficulties or trouble accessing the virtual Annual Meeting?

Beginning 15 minutes prior to the start of and during the meeting, we will have technicians ready to assist you with any technical difficulties you may have accessing the virtual Annual Meeting.

VOTING FAQs

Who is soliciting my proxy?

Our Board is soliciting the proxy accompanying this Proxy Statement. We will bear the entire cost of solicitation, including the preparation, assembly, printing, and mailing of this Proxy Statement, the proxy card and any additional information we furnish to our stockholders. We may solicit proxies through the mail, or our directors, executive officers and other employees may solicit proxies in person or by telephone. We will not pay any additional compensation to our directors, executive officers or other employees for their services with regard to proxy solicitation. We will also request brokers, banks and other holders of record to forward proxy materials, at our expense, to the beneficial owners of our shares. We have not engaged a proxy solicitor in connection with the Annual Meeting.

Who can vote?

Our Board has fixed the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to notice of, and to vote at, our Annual Meeting as the close of business on March 27, 2026 (the "Record Date"). As of the Record Date, there were 48,342,811 shares of our common stock outstanding and entitled to vote. Each share of our common stock is entitled to one vote on each of the matters to be voted on at the Annual Meeting.

How do I vote?

If you are a stockholder of record, you may vote as follows:

If you hold your shares beneficially in "street name," through a broker, bank or other nominee, you may vote by following the instructions provided with the proxy materials.

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Can I revoke my proxy?

If you are a stockholder of record, you may revoke your proxy at any time before the vote at our Annual Meeting by submitting written notice as described above under Contacting the Company, by delivering a proxy bearing a later date prior to the Annual Meeting or by attending the Annual Meeting and voting via the live webcast. If you hold your shares in street name, you must follow the instructions provided by your broker, bank or other nominee to revoke your proxy.

How many votes must be present to hold the Annual Meeting?

The presence of the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting, present via live webcast or represented by proxy, is necessary to constitute a quorum. Abstentions and "broker non-votes" are counted as present and entitled to vote for the purpose of determining whether a quorum is present. 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 that holder does not have discretionary voting power for that particular item and has not received instructions from the beneficial owner. If their clients do not provide voting instructions, brokers may not vote on behalf of their clients with respect to the election of directors (Proposal One). Brokers have discretionary voting power with respect to the ratification of the appointment of Deloitte as our independent registered accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2026 (Proposal Two).

What is the required vote for each proposal?

Proposal One (Election of Directors): The nominees for Class B directors named in this Proxy Statement will be elected by a majority of the votes cast with respect to such director nominee's election. In 2019, the Company amended and restated its bylaws (the "Bylaws") to, among other things, provide for the election of directors by a majority of the votes cast, except in the case of contested elections. A "majority of votes cast" means that the number of shares voted "for" a director nominee must exceed the number of votes cast "against" that director nominee's election. Abstentions will not affect the outcome of the vote on Proposal One. Your broker is not permitted to vote your shares on this matter if no instructions are received from you, and broker non-votes will have no effect on the outcome of Proposal One.

Proposal Two (Ratification of the Appointment of our Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm): The appointment of Deloitte as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2026 will be ratified if approved by the holders of a majority of common stock present at the Annual Meeting or represented by proxy, and entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting. Accordingly, Proposal Two will be approved if the number of "for" votes cast on Proposal Two exceeds the number of "against" and "abstain" votes. Abstentions will be included in the calculation of the number of shares represented and entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting and will therefore count as votes against the ratification of the appointment of Deloitte. Brokers will have discretionary authority to vote on Proposal Two.

Even if stockholders ratify the appointment of Deloitte, our Audit Committee in its discretion may appoint a different independent registered public accounting firm at any time during the year if it determines that such a change would be in the Company's best interest and, thus, in our stockholders' best interest.

What is the Board's voting recommendation?

The Board recommends a vote FORthe election of each of the Class B director nominees named in this Proxy Statement (Proposal One), and FORthe ratification of the appointment of Deloitte as the Company's independent registered public accounting firm for fiscal 2026 (Proposal Two).

Are there any other matters to be presented at the Annual Meeting?

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The Company does not know of any other matters to be raised at the Annual Meeting. If any other matters are properly presented at the Annual Meeting for consideration and you authorize a proxy to vote your shares, the persons named in the proxy will have the discretion to vote on those matters for you in accordance with their best judgment.

What happens if I sign and return a blank proxy card or voting instruction card?

If you are a stockholder of record and you properly mark, date, sign and return a proxy card or use Internet voting procedures, as applicable, to authorize the named proxies to vote your shares, and your proxy card or other proxy authorization is received by the Company in time to be voted at the Annual Meeting, it will be voted as specified, unless it is properly revoked prior to the Annual Meeting.

If you are a stockholder of record and you date, sign and return a proxy card without giving specific voting instructions, your shares will be voted:

If you hold your shares in street name via a broker, bank, or other nominee and do not provide the broker, bank or other nominee with voting instructions (including by dating, signing and returning a blank voting instruction card), your shares:

INSPECTOR OF ELECTIONS AND STOCKHOLDER LIST

We have appointed an Inspector of Elections for our Annual Meeting who will tabulate all of the votes at our Annual Meeting. For a period of ten (10) days prior to the Annual Meeting, any stockholder may send a request via email to [email protected] to examine a list of our stockholders of record entitled to vote at our Annual Meeting for any purpose germane to the meeting.

NOTICE AND ACCESS

We are using "notice and access" procedures to distribute our proxy materials to our stockholders. This method reduces the amount of paper used in producing proxy materials and lowers the costs associated with mailing the proxy materials to stockholders. We are mailing a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials ("Notice") to stockholders. The Notice includes instructions on how to access the materials over the Internet and how to request a paper or e-mail copy. The Notice further provides instructions on how stockholders may elect to receive proxy materials in the future in printed form or by electronic mail. To select a method of delivery while voting is open, holders of record may follow the instructions when voting online at www.proxyvote.com. At any time, you may also choose your method of delivery of the Company's proxy materials by visiting www.proxyvote.com. If you own shares of our common stock indirectly through a broker, bank or other intermediary, please contact the intermediary for additional information regarding delivery options.

Holders of record will have the Notice or proxy materials delivered directly to your mailing address or electronically if you have previously consented to that delivery method.

Holders of shares of our common stock in street name will have the proxy materials or the Notice forwarded to you by the intermediary that holds the shares of our common stock.

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ATTENDANCE

All stockholders as of the close of business on the Record Date, or their duly appointed proxy holders, may attend our virtual Annual Meeting.

To be admitted to the virtual Annual Meeting at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/ACIC2026, you must enter the 16-digit control number that can be found on your proxy card. Online access to the Annual Meeting will open at 12:45 p.m. Eastern Time on May 26, 2026 to allow time for stockholders to become familiar with the virtual platform and address any technical difficulties prior to the start of the live audio webcast of the Annual Meeting.

The Annual Meeting will begin promptly at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on May 26, 2026. Participants should ensure that they have a strong WiFi connection from wherever they intend to participate in the virtual Annual Meeting.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS INFORMATION

The Board oversees and monitors our management in the interest and for the benefit of our stockholders. We have posted our Corporate Governance Guidelines on our website at investors.amcoastal.com, under the "Governance Documents" tab. In addition to our Corporate Governance Guidelines, the Company has adopted a Code of Conduct and Ethics, which is applicable to our directors, officers and employees. The Code of Conduct and Ethics is also posted under the "Governance Documents" tab of our website at investors.amcoastal.com. Although the information contained on or connected to our website is not part of this Proxy Statement, you can view additional information on our website, such as the reports that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Copies of these documents may also be obtained free of charge by contacting the Company.

Our Board is currently comprised of nine directors, divided into two classes. In accordance with our Certificate of Incorporation, each class of directors is elected for a two-year term. The term of office for our Class B directors will expire at our Annual Meeting. The term of office for our Class A directors will expire at our 2027 annual meeting of stockholders.

The following table provides information regarding each of our current directors:

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Our Company remains committed to promoting diversity and inclusion throughout our organization, including the Board of Directors. The Board is committed to increasing its diversity and realizes the potential benefits from new perspectives that could be gained through diversity within the Board's ranks, provided we can locate willing, qualified candidates.

INSIDER TRADING POLICY

We have adoptedan Insider Trading Policy governing the purchase, sale and/or other dispositions of our securities by our directors, officers and employees, that we believe is reasonably designed to promote compliance with insider trading laws, rules and regulations and the exchange listing standards applicable to us. In addition, it is the policy of the Company to comply with applicable U.S. securities laws, including laws, rules and regulations related to trading in our securities. A copy of our Insider Trading Policy was filed as an exhibit to our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025.

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PROPOSAL ONE - ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

Our Board has nominated as Class B directors, for re-election at the Annual Meeting, Alec L. Poitevint, II, Kern M. Davis, M.D., William H. Hood, III, and Patrick F. Maroney. Our Board has also nominated Deirdre A. Brown for election at the Annual Meeting. Each director nominee elected as a Class B director at our Annual Meeting will serve a two-year term until his or her successor is elected and qualified at our 2028 annual meeting of stockholders or until his earlier death, resignation or removal.

Unless authority to vote for any of these nominees is withheld, the shares represented by the enclosed proxy will be voted "FOR" the election of each of Alec L. Poitevint, II, Kern M. Davis, M.D., William H. Hood, III, Patrick F. Maroney and Deirdre A. Brown as Class B directors. All of these nominees have agreed to serve if elected and have consented to being named in this Proxy Statement. In the event that any nominee becomes unable or unwilling to serve, the shares represented by the enclosed proxy will be voted for the election of such other person as the Board may recommend in his or her place. We have no reason to believe that any nominee will be unable or unwilling to serve as a director.

Our Bylaws provide that, in an uncontested election whereby the number of nominees for director does not exceed the number of directors to be elected, directors will be elected by a majority of votes cast (rather than by a plurality vote). A majority of the votes cast means that each director nominee must receive more votes "for" his or her election than votes "against" his or her election in order to be elected. Our Corporate Governance Guidelines require an incumbent director who receives less than a majority of the votes cast to tender his or her resignation. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will then consider, and recommend to the Board, whether to accept or reject the resignation. The Board will then consider such recommendation and publicly announce its decision regarding the tendered resignation within 120 days after the date the applicable election results are certified.

RECOMMENDATION OF THE BOARD

Our Board unanimously recommends that you vote FORthe election of each of Alec L. Poitevint, II, Kern M. Davis, M.D., William H. Hood, III, Patrick F. Maroney, and Deirdre A. Brown as Class B directors, each to serve a two-year term ending on the date of the 2028 annual meeting of stockholders and until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation or removal. Four of the nominees are currently directors of the Company, while Deirdre A. Brown will be newly elected. The Board's recommendation is based on the extent of each candidate's demonstrated excellence and success in his or her chosen career and the specific skills the candidate adds to the Board, as further described below.

CLASS B DIRECTOR NOMINEES

ALEC L. POITEVINT, II

LEAD DIRECTOR

AGE: 78

DIRECTOR SINCE: 2008

Alec L. Poitevint, II has served as a member of our Board since September 2008, and prior to that served as a director of our predecessor company, UIH, from 2001 to 2008. Mr. Poitevint has served as Chairman and President of Southeastern Minerals, Inc. ("Southeastern Minerals") and its affiliated companies, headquartered in Bainbridge, Georgia, since 1981. Southeastern Minerals manufactures and distributes mineral ingredients. He joined Southeastern Minerals in 1970. Mr. Poitevint previously served as a director (from 1989 to 2010), Vice Chairman (from 1994 to 2010), and President (2006) of First Port City Bank of Bainbridge. Mr. Poitevint served as a director of Agri-Nutrition/Virbac Corporation from 1996 to 2006, and at various times during his tenure he held the positions of Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Audit Committee. Mr. Poitevint has also served as the Chairman of American Feed Industry Insurance Company since 2002 and is the former

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Chairman of the American Feed Industry Association and National Feed Ingredients Association. Mr. Poitevint served on the Republican National Committee ("RNC") as Committeeman or Chairman for Georgia from 1989 to 2012 and served as RNC Treasurer from 1997 to 2001. Mr. Poitevint graduated from the University of Georgia, with a B.A. in Economics.

Our Board selected Mr. Poitevint to serve on our Board based upon his experience in the insurance industry and his diverse management experience.

KERN M. DAVIS, M.D., NACD.DC

DIRECTOR

AGE: 71

DIRECTOR SINCE: 2012

Kern M. Davis, M.D., NACD.DC, is National Association of Corporate Directors ("NACD") Directorship CertifiedTMand has served as a member of our Board since March 2012. Dr. Davis is an original investor of our predecessor company, UIH, and served as a director of UIH from 2006 to 2008. Dr. Davis earned a B.A. in Chemistry from the University of Florida in 1976, and a medical degree from the University of South Florida in 1980. He completed his medical residency at the University of Florida in 1985. In 1985, Dr. Davis joined Pathology Associates, P.A., an anatomic and clinical pathology professional services firm, and has served as its President since 1992. In 1993, Dr. Davis became a medical director for St. Anthony's Hospital Laboratory, and currently holds this position. Dr. Davis received an MBA from the University of South Florida in 1993.

Our Board selected Dr. Davis to serve on our Board based upon his prior experience with UIH and his educational and professional business experience.

WILLIAM H. HOOD, III

DIRECTOR

AGE: 65

DIRECTOR SINCE: 2012

William H. Hood, III has served as a member of our Board since March 2012 and, prior to that, served as a director of our predecessor company, UIH, from 2000 to 2008. Mr. Hood has over 30 years of business experience in numerous industries, including company start-ups, operations, sales/marketing and problem solving. In 1984, Mr. Hood formed Special Data Processing Corporation, a national partnership marketing company, and served as its Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") and Chairman from 1984 to 2006. Mr. Hood sold the company in 1999 to a private equity firm, and he continued to manage the company until he retired in 2006. Mr. Hood is Manager of Hall Capital Holdings LLC which manages his investments and entrepreneurial interests.

Our Board selected Mr. Hood to serve on our Board based upon his prior experience with UIH and his entrepreneurial experience in building and forming a national marketing company.

PATRICK F. MARONEY

DIRECTOR

AGE: 76

DIRECTOR SINCE: 2017

Patrick F. Maroney has served as a member of our Board since April 2017. Mr. Maroney has served on the board of directors of AmCoastal since October 2015, and on the Board of the Academy of the National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research from 2013 to February 2019. Mr. Maroney was a professor in the Department of Risk Management and Insurance at Florida State University from 1981 to 2013. Upon retirement in 2013, he was awarded the title of Professor Emeritus at Florida State University College of Business, a title he continues to hold. He previously served as the Director of the Florida

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Catastrophic Storm Risk Management Center at the College of Business from 2008 through 2013. Mr. Maroney has a B.S. in risk management and insurance from Florida State University and a J.D. from the University of Florida.

Mr. Maroney brings to our Board his significant experience as an insurance attorney as well as his significant experience in management and the insurance industry.

DEIRDRE A. BROWN

DIRECTOR NOMINEE

AGE: 65

Deirdre A. Brown has served as a Director of our subsidiary, American Coastal Insurance Company, since 2024 and is the Chair of the Risk Management Committee. Ms. Brown is a Certified Public Accountant with more than three decades of experience in accounting, internal audit, regulatory affairs, and corporate strategy. Her early career included positions in public accounting and internal audit roles with the Pinellas County Clerk of the Circuit Court.

At TECO Energy, Inc. (formerly NYS: TEC), she held multiple senior leadership positions, including Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy, Chief Integration Officer, Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer, and Vice President of Regulatory and Customer Service. Ms. Brown's responsibilities at TECO included oversight of financial, regulatory, audit, and compliance functions, including directing the internal auditing function during her tenure as Director of Audit Services.

Ms. Brown has served on the boards of several nonprofit organizations, including Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay, Women Executive Leadership-where she served as financial director-The Helen Gordon Davis Centre for Women, and Big Brothers Big Sisters Association of Florida.

Ms. Brown holds a B.S. in Accounting from Florida State University, an M.B.A. (Summa Cum Laude) from the University of South Florida, and completed the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program.

Our Board selected Ms. Brown to serve on our Board based upon her professional background in auditing and financial reporting and diverse business experience. Ms. Brown will serve as our Audit Committee's financial expert and chair.

CLASS A DIRECTORS WHOSE TERMS CONTINUE UNTIL THE 2027 ANNUAL MEETING

R. DANIEL PEED

EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

AGE: 63

DIRECTOR SINCE: 2017

R. Daniel Peed is the Executive Chairman of the Board. Previously, Mr. Peed served as our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board from July 2020 through February 2025. Mr. Peed has been a member of our Board since April 2017 and also held the position of Vice Chairman. Mr. Peed served on the board of American Coastal Insurance Company ("AmCoastal"), our wholly-owned subsidiary which was acquired as part of our acquisition of AmCo Holding Company (the "AmCo Merger"), from 2007 to 2017, and most recently served as Non-Executive Vice Chairman of AmRisc, LLC (formerly known as "CRC Insurance Services, Inc.") ("AmRisc"), the managing general agent of AmCoastal through December 31, 2019. Previously, Mr. Peed served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of AmRisc from December 2000 to December 2018. From 1991 to 2000, Mr. Peed served as a senior vice president of SOREMA North America Reinsurance Company, Fulcrum Insurance. In addition, from 1985 to 1991, Mr. Peed was a supervisor at Factory Mutual Engineering Association. Mr. Peed holds a B.S. in petroleum engineering from Texas A&M University and an M.B.A. with a concentration in insurance from the University of North Texas. In addition, Mr. Peed has the Chartered Property & Casualty Underwriter ("CPCU") and Associate in Reinsurance ("ARe") designations and a Professional Engineering designation in Fire Protection.

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Mr. Peed brings to our Board his significant experience in management and the insurance industry.

GREGORY C. BRANCH

CHAIRMAN EMERITUS

AGE: 78

DIRECTOR SINCE: 2008

Gregory C. Branch has served as the Chairman Emeritus of the Board since July 2020. Previously, Mr. Branch served as the Chairman of the Board from September 2008 to June 2020 and, prior to that, served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of our predecessor company, United Insurance Holdings, L.C. ("UIH"), from its inception in 1999 to 2008. Mr. Branch has served as the Chairman, President and owner of Branch Properties, Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of equine feed, since 1986. From 1994 to 1998, Mr. Branch served as Chairman of Summit Holding Southeast, Inc., an insurance holding company that completed its initial public offering in 1997 and was acquired by Liberty Mutual in 1998. Mr. Branch has served as a director of Prime Holdings, Inc. since 2001 and of Raffles Insurance Company since 2003. Mr. Branch was the founding Chairman of Sunz Insurance Holding, a Florida workers compensation company that was sold in 2008. Mr. Branch was a founding member and former Chairman of, and remains a director of, American Feed Industry Insurance Company RRG. Mr. Branch operated as an underwriting member of Lloyd's of London from 1986 to 2004. Mr. Branch graduated from the University of Florida with a B.S. in Agriculture Economics and served at the rank of Captain in the U.S. Army.

Our Board selected Mr. Branch to serve on our Board based upon his substantial experience in the insurance industry and his broad entrepreneurial skills obtained by owning his own business.

MICHAEL R. HOGAN

DIRECTOR

AGE: 76

DIRECTOR SINCE: 2017

Michael R. Hogan has served as a member of our Board since April 2017. Mr. Hogan served on the board of directors of AmCoastal from 2015 to 2024. From 1994 to 1999, Mr. Hogan served on the national agency advisory board of The Travelers Insurance Company. In addition, from 2003 to 2008, Mr. Hogan served on the board of directors of The South Financial Corporation. Mr. Hogan has over 45 years of experience as an independent insurance agent, specializing in wind, flood and earthquake insurance as the President and owner of Puckett, Sheets, and Hogan Insurance, which received a national Best Practices Award in 2006. Mr. Hogan graduated from Furman University in 1972 with a B.A. in business and economics.

Mr. Hogan brings to our Board his significant experience in management and the insurance industry.

KENT G. WHITTEMORE

DIRECTOR

AGE: 78

DIRECTOR SINCE: 2008

Kent G. Whittemore has served as a member of our Board since September 2008 and, prior to that, served as a director of our predecessor company, UIH, from 2001 to 2008. Mr. Whittemore has served as the President of, and is a shareholder of, The Whittemore Law Group, P.A., a law firm located in St. Petersburg, Florida that he co-founded in 1987. On January 1, 2023, he became Senior Counsel at the St. Petersburg law firm of Englander Fischer. His legal practice primarily focuses on personal injury, insurance litigation, and business and real estate litigation. Mr. Whittemore served as President of the St. Petersburg Bar Association from 1996 to 1997, and served as President of the Tampa Bay Trial Lawyers Association from 2003 to 2004. Mr. Whittemore formerly served as a director of the Southern Trial Lawyers Association and formerly served as a director of the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers. He also served on St. Petersburg's Charter Review Commission. Mr. Whittemore received a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Florida and a J.D. from Stetson College of Law.

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Our Board selected Mr. Whittemore to serve on our Board based upon his insurance industry experience and his legal expertise.

DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE

The following table shows the directors who are considered independent in accordance with Nasdaq rules as well as their committee assignments:

(1) Reflects the committees and capacity in which Ms. Brown will serve if elected.

*Committee Chair

The Board considered all relevant facts and circumstances in assessing director independence. As described below, our Board has an Audit Committee, a Compensation and Benefits Committee, a Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and an Investment Committee. All of the members of all of these committees qualify as independent directors. In addition, all of the committee members qualify as independent directors under the independence standards specific to their committees.

BOARD LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE

Our Board has an Executive Chairman. The Executive Chairman, R. Daniel Peed, sets the agendas for and presides over the Board meetings.

Our Board also has a Lead Director, Alec L. Poitevint II, who was appointed by the independent directors. The Lead Director provides additional leadership and organization in meetings of independent directors separate and apart from management and non-independent directors, including leading the executive sessions of independent directors. In the event of Mr. Poitevint's incapacity, unavailability or absence, the chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee would serve as the Lead Director until the independent directors selected a new Lead Director.

The Board believes that this leadership structure is appropriate for our Company at this time because it allows for non-executive oversight of management, increases management accountability and encourages an objective evaluation of management's performance.

BOARD'S ROLE IN RISK MANAGEMENT AND OVERSIGHT

The Board reviews and approves the Company's strategic plan as presented by management and monitors our performance throughout the year against the plan.

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The Board regularly devotes time during its meetings to review and discuss the most significant risks we face and management's processes for identifying, prioritizing, and responding to those risks. During these discussions, our President and CEO and our Chief Financial Officer ("CFO") present management's processes for the assessment of risks, a description of the most significant risks we face and any mitigating factors, plans or policies in place to address those risks. The Board also reviews and approves the Company's cybersecurity program. The Board receives an assessment of cybersecurity risks and the status of procedures to address these risks. The Board also delegates certain of its risk oversight responsibilities to its committees.

The Audit Committee bears responsibility for oversight of our policies with respect to risk assessment and risk management. The Audit Committee members analyze major financial risk exposures which we face and the steps we have taken to monitor and control such exposures. The Audit Committee also oversees our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, areas which generate many of the most significant risks we face.

The Compensation and Benefits Committee reviews our compensation structure, policies and practices to determine whether incentive compensation arrangements would be reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on the Company and considers safeguards against incentives to take excessive risks. The Compensation and Benefits Committee reports these risks to the Board.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is responsible for considering and addressing risks relating to CEO succession planning and the director nomination and appointment process.

The Investment Committee bears responsibility for oversight of policy decisions about risk aggregation and minimization, including credit risk. The Investment Committee is also responsible for oversight of the capital structure and financing arrangements in support of our plans to ensure consistency with our risk tolerances and oversight of management's investment of our assets.

MEETINGSAND MEETING ATTENDANCE

Our Board held four meetings during 2025. Each of our directors attended all meetings of the Board. 97% of Committee meetings were attended by all directors for the Board committees on which they served for the periods in which they served during 2025. We do not have a formal policy with respect to director attendance at annual meetings of stockholders; however, we encourage all of our directors to attend such meetings. Six of our Board members attended our 2025 annual meeting of stockholders.

COMMUNICATION WITH DIRECTORS

Stockholders may contact an individual director, our Board as a group, our independent directors as a group or a specified Board committee by sending correspondence addressed to our Corporate Secretary to the address listed in the subsection entitled Contacting the Company or to [email protected].Each communication should specify the applicable addressee or addressees to which the communication is directed, as well as the general topic of the communication. We will initially receive and process communications before forwarding them to the addressee. We also may refer communications to other departments as applicable. We generally will not forward to our directors a communication that is primarily commercial in nature, relates to an improper or irrelevant topic or is a request for general information.

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BOARD COMMITTEES

AUDIT COMMITTEE. Our Audit Committee consists of Mr. Hudson (Chair), Dr. Davis and Mr. Maroney. Our Board has determined that Mr. Hudson is an "audit committee financial expert" as defined by SEC rules. All members of our Audit Committee are "independent" under both the general independence standards and the audit committee independence standards set forth in the Nasdaq rules.

Our Audit Committee operates under a formal written charter adopted by our Board that governs its duties and conduct. The committee reviews its charter annually for appropriate revisions. Interested parties can obtain a copy of the charter free of charge on our website at investors.amcoastal.com, under the "Governance Documents" tab.

Our Audit Committee assists our Board in its oversight of the quality and integrity of our accounting, auditing, and reporting practices. Our Audit Committee's role includes overseeing:

Our Audit Committee met nine times during 2025.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS COMMITTEE. Our Compensation and Benefits Committee consists of Mr. Whittemore (Chair), Mr. Hudson and Mr. Poitevint.

All members of our Compensation and Benefits Committee are "independent" under both the general independence standards and the compensation committee independence standards set forth in the Nasdaq rules.

Our Compensation and Benefits Committee operates under a formal written charter adopted by our Board that governs its duties and conduct. The committee reviews its charter annually for appropriate revisions. Interested parties can obtain a copy of the charter free of charge on our website at investors.amcoastal.com under the "Governance Documents" tab.

Our Compensation and Benefits Committee assists our Board in its oversight of employee compensation, benefit plans and employee stock programs and the compensation of our senior management. Our Compensation and Benefits Committee's responsibilities include the following:

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As it deems appropriate, our Compensation and Benefits Committee may establish and delegate authority to subcommittees. The Compensation and Benefits Committee, to the extent permitted by applicable law, may also delegate to one or more executives of ACIC the authority, within guidelines set by the Compensation and Benefits Committee, to approve equity compensation awards under established equity plans of the Company to employees other than those subject to Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"). The Compensation and Benefits Committee may also delegate non-discretionary administrative authority under Company compensation and benefit plans consistent with any limitations specified in the applicable plans.

Our Compensation and Benefits Committee met four times during 2025.

NOMINATING AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE. Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee consists of Dr. Davis (Chair), Mr. Hogan and Mr. Whittemore. All members of our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee are "independent" under the general independence standards set forth in the Nasdaq rules.

Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee operates under a formal written charter that governs its duties and conduct. The committee reviews its charter annually for appropriate revisions. Interested parties can obtain a copy of the charter free of charge on our website at investors.amcoastal.comunder the "Governance Documents" tab.

Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee assists our Board by, among other things:

As noted above, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee oversees the annual self-evaluation process for the Board and each of its committees. These self-evaluations are designed to assess whether the Board or the respective committee is functioning effectively and to provide a mechanism for the Board or the respective committee to identify potential areas for improvement. Once completed, the results of the self-evaluations and any appropriate recommendations or action plans are discussed among the members of the Board and each of its committees.

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Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee met four times during 2025.

INVESTMENT COMMITTEE. Our Investment Committee consists of Mr. Poitevint (Chair), Mr. Hood and Mr. Maroney. All members of our Investment Committee are "independent" under the general independence standards set forth in the Nasdaq rules.

Our Investment Committee operates under a formal written charter that governs its duties and conduct. The committee reviews its charter annually for appropriate revisions. Interested parties can obtain a copy of the charter free of charge on our website at investors.amcoastal.comunder the "Governance Documents" tab.

Our Investment Committee assists our Board with the oversight of the Company's investment policies and guidelines through the following activities:

Our Investment Committee met twelve times during 2025.

SELECTION OF DIRECTOR NOMINEES

Our Board selects the director nominees to stand for election at our annual stockholder meetings and to fill vacancies occurring on our Board based on the recommendations of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee selects nominees for directors on the basis of experience, integrity, skills, the ability to make independent analytical inquiries, an understanding of our business environment and the willingness to devote adequate time to Board duties, all within the context of an assessment of the perceived needs of the Board at a given point in time. In addition to the individual attributes of our directors discussed above, we highly value the collective business experience and qualifications of the directors. We believe that the collective experiences, viewpoints and perspectives of our directors result in a Board with the commitment and energy to advance the interests of our stockholders.

Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee may consider current members of our Board for re-election unless they have notified our Board that they do not wish to stand for re-election. There is no mandatory retirement age for our directors. Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee may also consider candidates for our Board recommended by current members of our Board or members of management. In addition, our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will consider director candidates recommended by our stockholders in the same manner as it would consider any other recommended nominees. Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee considers diversity in identifying nominees for directors to ensure a broad range of perspectives and expertise are represented on our Board. If our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee determines that a stockholder-recommended candidate is suitable for Board membership, it will include the candidate in the pool of candidates under consideration for nomination upon the occurrence of the next Board vacancy or in connection with the next annual meeting of our stockholders.

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Pursuant to the above procedures, once our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee identifies prospective nominees, it will solicit background information on the candidates, then interview and evaluate the candidates. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will then report its recommendations to the Board.

Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee recommended the four incumbent director nominees for election at our Annual Meeting, and our Board approved the recommendation.

DIRECTOR COMPENSATION

The following table describes the compensation received by each of our directors during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025. Mr. Peed only received compensation for his services as a director. His compensation is also disclosed under the subsection entitled Executive Compensation.

During fiscal year 2025, we offered the following compensation program for our directors: (i) an annual base retainer of $75,000 and an award of 5,000 shares of restricted stock, (ii) an additional annual retainer of $75,000 for the Chairman of the Board, (iii) an additional annual retainer of $50,000 for the Chairman Emeritus of the Board, (iv) an additional annual retainer of $20,000 to our Audit Committee Chairman, (v) an additional annual retainer of $12,500 to our Compensation and Benefits Committee Chairman and (vi) an additional annual retainer of $10,000 to the Chairmen of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the Investment Committee.

COMPENSATION COMMITTEE INTERLOCKS AND INSIDER PARTICIPATION

As of December 31, 2025, the Compensation and Benefits Committee was comprised of the following three non-employee directors: Kent G. Whittemore (Chair), Sherrill W. Hudson and Alec L. Poitevint, II. During 2025, no executive officer of the Company served as a director or as a member of the compensation committee of a company (i) whose executive officer served as a director or as a member of the Compensation and Benefits Committee and (ii) which employed a director of the Company.

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PROPOSAL TWO - RATIFICATION OF APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

Our Audit Committee has approved the engagement of Deloitte as the independent registered public accounting firm to perform an audit of our consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2026. Deloitte has served as our auditor since 2018. Deloitte has advised our Audit Committee that neither it, nor any of its members, has any direct financial interest in ACIC as a promoter, underwriter, voting trustee, director, officer or employee. We do not expect a representative of Deloitte to attend our Annual Meeting, but if a Deloitte representative does attend, the representative will respond to appropriate questions and will have the opportunity to make a statement if the representative desires to do so.

The Board is asking our stockholders to ratify our Audit Committee's appointment of Deloitte as our independent registered public accounting firm for the 2026 fiscal year. The appointment of Deloitte as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2026 will be ratified if the number of "for" votes cast on Proposal Two exceeds the number of "against" and "abstain" votes. Abstentions will be included in the calculation of the number of shares represented and entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting and will therefore count as votes against the ratification of the appointment of Deloitte. Brokers will have discretionary authority to vote on Proposal Two.

Although none of our Certificate of Incorporation, our Bylaws, or any other document or agreement requires ratification, the Board submits the appointment of Deloitte to our stockholders for ratification because we value our stockholders' views on the appointment of our independent registered public accounting firm. If our stockholders do not ratify the appointment of Deloitte, we will consider such result as a direction from the stockholders to our Audit Committee to consider the appointment of a different firm and our Audit Committee will reconsider whether to retain Deloitte. In such event, our Audit Committee may retain Deloitte notwithstanding the fact that the stockholders did not ratify the appointment, or may appoint another accounting firm without re-submitting the matter to a stockholder vote. Even if stockholders ratify the appointment, our Audit Committee in its discretion may appoint a different independent registered public accounting firm at any time during the year if it determines that such a change would be in the Company's best interest and, thus, in our stockholders' best interest.

RECOMMENDATION OF THE BOARD

The Board and the Audit Committee recommend a vote FORthe ratification of the appointment of Deloitte as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2026.

AUDITCOMMITTEE REPORT

As part of its oversight responsibility, the Audit Committee reviewed and discussed the audited financial statements, the adequacy of financial controls and the effectiveness of ACIC's internal control over financial reporting with management and Deloitte. The Audit Committee also has discussed with Deloitte the matters required to be discussed by the applicable requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and the SEC. The Audit Committee has received the written disclosures and the letter from Deloitte required by applicable requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding the independent accountant's communications with the audit committee concerning independence. The Audit Committee also has discussed with Deloitte that firm's independence.

Based on these reviews and discussions, the Audit Committee has recommended to the Board, and the Board has approved, the inclusion of the audited financial statements in ACIC's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 for filing with the SEC.

Sherrill W. Hudson, Chairman

Patrick F. Maroney

Kern M. Davis, M.D., NACD.DC

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AUDIT COMMITTEE'S PRE-APPROVAL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Our Audit Committee requires that management obtains the prior approval of the Audit Committee for all audit and permissible non-audit services that our independent registered public accounting firm will provide. At regular meetings or as needed during the year, the Audit Committee reviews and approves proposals for such services, including the estimated fees the independent registered public accounting firm will charge. The Audit Committee Chairman may approve permissible non-audit services in an amount up to $10,000, and notifies the full Audit Committee of such approvals at its next scheduled meeting.

AUDIT AND RELATED FEES

The following table summarizes the approximate fees our current auditor, Deloitte, billed us for services rendered during fiscal years 2025 and 2024, all of which were pre-approved by our Audit Committee in accordance with the procedures described above.

(1) Prior year fees have been updated to reflect billings in subsequent year for the audit year they relate to.

INFORMATION ABOUT OUR EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

The following individuals serve as our executive officers:

B. BRADFORD MARTZ has served as our President since July of 2020 and our Chief Executive Officer since February 2025. He also served as our CFO from October 2012 to January 2024. From 2001 until his appointment as our CFO, Mr. Martz held a series of financial roles with progressively responsible leadership experience leading to becoming CFO in 2007 of Bankers Financial Corporation, a Florida-based diversified holding company system with operations in the property and casualty insurance, life/annuity insurance, warranty, insurance agency, insurance business process outsourcing and real estate markets. From 1996 to 2001, Mr. Martz was the CFO of Bonded Builders Service Corporation, a Florida domiciled specialty insurer focused on new home warranty offerings nationwide. Mr. Martz is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in Florida and also holds the Global Certified Management Accountant designation from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Mr. Martz obtained a B.S. in Finance from the University of Colorado at Boulder and an MBA from Northeastern University.

CHRISTOPHER GRIFFITH has served as our Chief Information Officer since October 2018 and as our Chief Operating Officer since July 2021. He has over 25 years of technology-related experience, with over 18 years in the insurance industry. Prior

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to his time at the Company, Mr. Griffith served as the Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Safety National Casualty Corp ("Safety National"), a specialty insurance and reinsurance provider (from April 2013 to September 2018). While at Safety National, Mr. Griffith was responsible for the data and digital initiatives of the company, as well as oversight and development of over 200 IT professionals. Previously, Mr. Griffith has served in various executive-level IT positions across multiple industries. Mr. Griffith holds a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of South Carolina, as well as an Executive MBA from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

BROOKE ADLER has served as General Counsel since April 2021 and joined as our Assistant General Counsel in 2020. Prior to joining our Company, Ms. Adler served as General Counsel to a multi-state property insurance company, and has held a variety of roles with other insurance groups in the domestic Florida market. Her experience includes regulatory compliance, mergers and corporate formations, licensing, and claims litigation. A member of the Florida Bar, Ms. Adler holds a B.A. degree from the University of South Florida and a J.D. from Seton Hall University.

SVETLANA CASTLE has served as our Chief Financial Officer since January 2024. Prior to joining ACIC, Ms. Castle spent 16 years at Bankers Financial Corporation, a Florida-based holding company with operations in the property and casualty insurance, warranty, PEO and real estate markets. Ms. Castle held progressive roles at Bankers Financial Corporation, including Chief Financial Officer for a suite of Florida and Louisiana property and casualty companies and Chief Accounting Officer for the Holding Company. Ms. Castle's experience includes oversight of accounting, treasury, investments, FP&A and audit functions, tax, reinsurance, due diligence on the buy and sell side, regulatory compliance and presentations to rating agencies. Ms. Castle is a Certified Public Accountant, licensed in the state of Florida. She started her career teaching Mathematics. Ms. Castle holds a B.S. in Education and a J.D. from Voronezh State University, a B.A. in Accounting from University of South Florida and a Master of Professional Accounting from The University of Texas at Austin, all with Honors.

JAMES GRAY has served as our Chief Compliance and Risk Officer since January 2024. Mr. Gray served in various roles at the Company in finance, internal audit, and enterprise risk management since 2017. Mr. Gray served as CFO of AmCoastal from 2015 to 2017. From 1993 through 2015 Mr. Gray held various positions at Thomas Howell Ferguson PA ("THF") and became a Shareholder in 1997. During his tenure at THF he spent a significant amount of time working in the areas of audit, tax, compliance, and strategic planning matters within the insurance industry. In addition, he led the technology change from paper documented to digital documented audits, tax preparation, data manipulation, and data storage for the firm. From 1987 through 1993 he worked for Ernst & Whinney, Arthur Young, and then Ernst & Young where he was a member of the southeast regional insurance tax practice. Mr. Gray is a Certified Public Accountant, licensed in the state of Florida. Mr. Gray holds a B.S. in Finance from The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

Our Compensation Discussion and Analysis describes our executive compensation program and philosophy and reviews the actions taken by our Compensation and Benefits Committee ("Committee") concerning the compensation of our Named Executive Officers ("NEOs"), who are listed below, for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2025:

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2025 COMPANY PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS. We increased net revenues from continuing operations year over year by $38.8 million. This increase in revenue is the result of net premiums earned increasing $32.9 million, or 12.0%, driven by decreased ceded premiums earned of $23.2 million, as structural changes in our reinsurance program resulted in cost savings in the current year. Expenses remained relatively flat year-over-year, although losses and LAE incurred decreased $23.3 million and administrative costs decreased $4.3 million, offset by increased policy acquisition costs of $26.8 million.

See the sections titled RESULTS OF OPERATIONS, GEOGRAPHIC MARKETS andANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION as well as the consolidated financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, for additional information about the financial highlights included herein.

STRATEGIC HIGHLIGHTS. During 2025, we achieved several goals which were consistent with our strategy to become a specialty commercial lines underwriter and are optimistic about future performance for the following reasons:

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Role of the Compensation and Benefits Committee and Management in the Compensation-Setting Process. Our Committee's role in reviewing and approving executive compensation includes the annual review and approval of goals, risks and objectives relevant to senior management compensation and approval of equity-based awards for the CEO and other senior management. The Committee's duties and responsibilities are further set forth in the Committee's charter as described under the section entitled Board Committeesabove. The Committee's charter can also be found at the following url: https://investors.amcoastal.com/governance/governance-documents/default.aspx.

Compensation for our CEO is reviewed and approved by the Committee following consultation and input from its independent compensation consultant, Pay Governance LLC. Pay Governance LLC is retained by the Compensation Committee. During 2025 (like 2020 through 2024), Mr. Peed declined all base salary and incentive compensation beyond what he would receive as Executive Chairman of the Board.

For our other executives, our CEO makes recommendations to the Committee for base salaries and Annual Incentive Plan targets. The Committee considers those recommendations and other relevant factors in making its final compensation decisions. The incentive compensation plans are described in more detail under the Incentive Compensationsubsection of the section titled Elements of Executive Compensation.

The Chairs of the Audit and Investment Committees serve on the Committee. These directors bring information and perspective from the work of other committees to provide insight to assist the Committee in executing its role, including its role in risk management oversight and fulfilling its obligations under the Committee charter.

The Committee has the authority to engage consultants and advisors pursuant to its charter. For fiscal 2025, the Committee continued to rely on Pay Governance LLC, which provided assistance to the Committee in competitive trends in executive compensation, marketplace data on executive pay levels and on the implementation of the Company's incentive plans. Pursuant to regulatory requirements, the Committee assessed Pay Governance LLC's independence in 2025 and concluded that Pay Governance LLC's work did not raise any conflicts of interest.

Summary of 2025 Compensation Actions. In 2025, our Committee continued its focus on managing our compensation program consistent with our compensation philosophy, which is described below under Overview of our Executive Compensation Philosophy and Objectives. Actions taken or approved by our Committee relative to the compensation programs for our executive officers for 2025 included the following:

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Overview of our Executive Compensation Philosophy and Objectives. We believe that a skilled, experienced and dedicated senior management team is essential to the future success of our Company and to building stockholder value. In order to attract and retain talented executives with these qualities as well as to motivate management to maximize performance while building stockholders' value, we have sought to establish compensation programs that we believe are competitive in the marketplace. We also have a "pay-for-performance" philosophy, meaning that our compensation program is intended to pay above market compensation to our NEOs if the performance of the Company delivers higher value to the stockholders, and below-market compensation if the Company's financial performance delivers below market-median value to its stockholders.

Three long-term objectives drive the Committee's decisions regarding the executive compensation elements, including incentive plan design and award levels. These objectives are as follows:

Build long-term stockholder value- We provide a significant portion of executive compensation through long-term incentive compensation and stock-based opportunities to emphasize compensation programs that we believe are linked to maximizing stockholder value over the long term;

Drive sustained, strong business and financial results- We provide a significant portion of executive compensation through incentive compensation programs that are linked to our Company achieving targeted increases in earnings per share, return on equity and gross premiums earned; and

Attract, motivate, and retain a highly qualified and effective executive team- The attraction, motivation, and retention of top executive talent is critical to our continued success. Therefore, the Committee considers broad-based surveys that reveal executive compensation levels in the industry to gain a general understanding of compensation practices.

Pay Mix. The key components of our compensation program for our NEOs for 2025 were base salary, annual cash incentive awards under our Annual Incentive Plan, time-vesting restricted stock awards, performance stock units and stock options under our Long-Term Incentive Plan, and other compensation consisting primarily of matching 401(k) contributions and health and welfare benefits (excluding Mr. Peed, who declined all compensation for his role as CEO). Each component of our compensation program has an important role in creating compensation arrangements that motivate and reward strong performance and in retaining the NEOs who deliver robust results.

The Committee prioritizes incentive-based "pay-for-performance" compensation programs when developing annual total compensation for our NEOs.

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As shown in the chart below, 59.9% of the total target compensation was linked to annual and long-term performance-based incentives for all NEOs (excluding Mr. Peed) who were eligible for the AIP and LTIP compensation.

Peer Group. To ensure that our NEO compensation program is competitive and will allow us to meet our objective of attracting and retaining talented executives, the Committee, with the assistance of Pay Governance LLC, established a group of peer companies on which to compare compensation for the executives with compensation received by the executives of our competitors. In fiscal 2025, the Committee updated our designated comparison group of nine publicly-listed companies of varying sizes within the insurance industry which primarily was used to compare Return on Average Equity under our Long-Term Incentive Plan grants, but which was also used for benchmarking executive compensation. The designated comparison group for 2025 consisted of the following companies:

Elements of Executive Compensation.

BASE SALARY. In general, the base salary of each executive is initially established through arm's-length negotiations at the time the individual is hired, including consideration of the individual's qualifications, experience, level of responsibility, as well as internal pay equity considerations. Employment agreements of the NEOs provide that the individual NEO shall receive an annual base salary (Mr. Peed did not have an employment agreement prior to stepping down as CEO). These agreements permit base salary to be increased on an annual basis at the discretion of the Committee during the term of employment. Pursuant to each employment agreement, base salaries may not be decreased during the individual's term of employment.

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We believe base salaries should be competitive based upon an executive officer's scope of responsibilities, the market compensation of similarly situated executives, and the relative talent of the individual executive. When establishing base salary for an executive, we also consider other factors such as internal consistency, and for new hires, salary paid by a former employer. Based on the foregoing considerations, in 2025 the Committee approved the salaries for each of the NEOs. Our NEOs' base salaries for 2025 were as follows:

(1) Mr. Peed declined any compensation for his role as CEO, other than what he receives for serving as Executive Chairman of the Board and thus did not receive a salary in fiscal 2025.

In addition, the Committee approved the following salary increases for our NEOs that became effective January 1, 2026:

INCENTIVE COMPENSATION. The award of incentive compensation for our NEOs under our Annual Incentive Plan and performance-based compensation under our long-term incentive plan is based on achieving certain annual corporate performance goals included in our 2020 Omnibus Incentive Plan (our "Long-Term Incentive Plan"). As to each performance goal, the relevant measurement of performance will be computed in accordance with GAAP to the extent applicable, but, unless otherwise determined by the Committee, will exclude the effect of various items set forth in the "Performance Goals" section in the 2020 Omnibus Incentive Plan.

Annual Incentive Plan -Our NEOs as well as certain other management employees, participate in the Annual Incentive Plan, which provides participants an opportunity to earn a cash bonus upon achievement of key financial performance objectives approved by the Committee. Within the overall context of our compensation philosophy and culture, the Annual Incentive Plan:

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In setting the performance goals under the Annual Incentive Plan, our intention is to provide for challenging and ambitious targets to further our overall goal of increasing stockholder value. Though challenging, we believe the goals are attainable through a collaborative effort by our NEOs. The Committee reviews and approves payouts made under the Annual Incentive Plan. The 2025 Annual Incentive Plan was designed with three metrics:

Core income is a non-GAAP measure reported by ACIC that excludes from net income the effect of income (loss) from discontinued operations, non-cash amortization of intangible assets, unrealized gains and losses on the Company's equity security investments and realized gains and losses on the Company's investment portfolio. For the purposes of incentive compensation goal calculations, the core income after tax return on equity shall be further adjusted to remove the after-tax effect of losses from named or numbered tropical windstorms as designated by the National Hurricane Center and earthquakes.

The range of potential payouts under the Fiscal 2025 Annual Incentive Plan is described in the table below:

Fiscal 2025 combined ratio was approximately 60.1%, 14.9% below target. Fiscal 2025 core income after-tax return on equity was 44.0%, 24.0% above target. The Committee also determined, in consultation with Pay Governance LLC, that each of the NEO's individual performance warranted 100% of the target payment of the qualitative metric. Taking into consideration these outcomes, as well as the NEO's respective contributions to our strategic goals, the Committee approved payment under the Annual Incentive Plan to our NEOs for 2025 described below and as further detailed in the 2025 Summary Compensation Tableunder the column titled Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation. Mr. Peed declined any compensation other than what he receives for serving as Executive Chairman of the Board. The following table sets forth the calculation of annual incentive award payments to each of our NEOs for fiscal 2025 after applying the performance metrics and individual performance objectives evaluations:

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Long-Term Incentive Plan -The Committee implemented our Long-Term Incentive Plan because it believes that long-term incentives are an essential part of our total compensation package, which is intended to promote ownership, higher performance and ultimately higher stockholder return. Additionally, the Committee intends for the Long-Term Incentive Plan to further the following four key objectives that fit within the overall context of our compensation philosophy and culture:

Under our long-term incentive program, we historically made annual grants of time-vesting restricted stock to our executive officers if predetermined corporate performance targets were achieved. Restricted stock awards for our NEOs vested ratably over the three years following the grant date, contingent on continued employment, unless the executive was terminated by us other than for cause. The number of shares of time-vesting restricted stock granted was based on the target dollar value of the award divided by the closing price of our stock on the date of grant.

Since fiscal 2018, on the advice of Pay Governance LLC, the Committee has incorporated both performance and time-based awards in our long-term incentive program. The Committee believes this plan design remains consistent with the goal of attracting and retaining highly qualified executives, while rewarding company performance aligned with the interests of our stakeholders.

In fiscal 2025, we granted restricted stock units, performance stock units and stock options to our NEOs (other than Mr. Peed) which vest ratably over the three years following the grant date. The program design is described below:

Each PSU grant consists of three annual tranches that individually are eligible to vest based on the applicable year's performance against target. For the fiscal 2025 PSUs, the Committee utilized the Company's GAAP Return on Average Equity ("GAAP ROAE") versus that of its peers as the performance metric. The Committee set a target goal for PSUs that is

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challenging, but capable of being achieved with strong performance. Failure to achieve threshold performance of 750 basis points below the peer group median in any fiscal year will result in failure of vesting of that tranche of the award. The award of each tranche of PSUs is capped at 150% of target if the Company's performance is 750 basis points above the peer group median. Based on fiscal 2025 financial results, the Company's GAAP ROAE was above the peer group median and above the maximum threshold, resulting in the maximum vesting of 150% of the third tranche of the fiscal 2023 PSUs, the second tranche of the fiscal 2024 PSUs and the first tranche of the fiscal 2025 PSUs.

OTHER COMPENSATION. We have a 401(k) plan that generally covers all of our employees who have completed 90 days of service. Pursuant to our 401(k) plan, participants may elect to make pre-tax contributions up to the statutorily prescribed annual limits. Our NEOs who participate in the 401(k) plan receive matching contributions under our 401(k) plan in the same manner as all of our employees who participate in the plan. During 2025, we matched 100% of each participant's pre-tax contributions up to the first 5% of such participant's base salary up to the maximum allowed by the plan. Mr. Peed does not participate in the 401(k) plan.

Our executive officers receive health and welfare benefits, such as group medical, group life, group dental and short-term and long-term disability coverage. We believe that our executives should be able to provide for their retirement needs from the total annual compensation they earn based on our Company's performance. Accordingly, other than employer matching contributions to the accounts of our NEOs (other than Mr. Peed) under our 401(k) Plan (at the same matching contribution rate that we provide to all eligible full-time employees), we do not offer executives participation in any qualified or

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non-qualified pension plans, supplemental executive retirement plans, deferred compensation plans or other forms of compensation for retirement.

Other Highlights of Our Compensation Programs. We periodically review best practices in the area of executive compensation and update our compensation policies and practices to reflect those that we believe are appropriate for our company. In addition to the short- and long-term performance compensation described in the Elements of Executive Compensationsection above, our program also includes the following:

Stock Ownership Guidelines. In 2019, the Board adopted stock ownership guidelines ("Ownership Guidelines") for our CEO, CFO, other Section 16 officers and members of our Board. The Ownership Guidelines were adopted to demonstrate the Company's commitment to stockholders and employees, customers and vendors.

The following ownership target amount categories will remain in place until changed by the Compensation and Benefits Committee:

Securities eligible to meet the targets include the following:

Stock options (vested or unvested), performance stock or units (unearned) and pledged securities are not eligible securities for purposes of complying with these ownership targets.

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Covered individuals employed or serving as non-employee Board members as of August 1, 2019 had until December 31, 2024 to meet the ownership targets above, except that any covered individuals hired, promoted or elected to the Board within twelve months preceding August 1, 2019 shall have until December 31, 2025 to meet these ownership targets. Covered individuals hired, promoted or elected after August 1, 2019 have five years from the date of hiring, promotion or election, as applicable, to reach the applicable ownership target.

Compensation Clawback Policy. On March 21, 2019, the Committee adopted the Compensation Clawback and Recoupment Policy ("Clawback Policy"), which was updated on November 20, 2024 to reference the Amended and Restated 2020 Omnibus Incentive Plan, that provides for the recoupment of bonus or incentive-based compensation paid or to be paid to the Company's Section 16 officers in the event of a restatement of financial results or similar revisions of performance indicators upon which incentive compensation is based.

Anti-Hedging Policy. On July 31, 2019, our Board adopted an anti-hedging policy. Under the Anti-Hedging Policy, all Company employees, officers and directors are prohibited from engaging in transactions that are designed to or that may reasonably be expected to have the effect of hedging of any securities of the Company, either through transactions in the Company's securities or through the use of financial instruments designed for such purposes, such as prepaid variable forward contracts, short sale instruments, puts, calls, equity swaps, collars, units of exchangeable funds or other derivative instruments.

Severance and Change of Control Arrangements. We offer severance benefits because we compete for executive talent in a highly competitive market in which companies routinely offer similar benefits to NEOs. We have entered into employment agreements with each of our NEOs, (excluding Mr. Peed), which provide for severance benefits if we terminate the NEO without cause. These severance benefits consist of base salary continuation and a prorated portion of the executive's annual incentive bonus. Additionally, under the terms of restricted stock awards granted to our NEOs, accelerated vesting of any unvested restricted stock and option awards granted will only be accelerated in the event of a termination without cause or for "good reason" within two years following a change in control. Please refer to the discussion below under Potential Payments upon Termination or Change of Controlfor a more detailed discussion of our severance and change of control arrangements.

Advisory Votes on Executive Compensation. The Board recognizes the fundamental interest that our stockholders have in the compensation of our executive officers. At the 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, approximately 99.5% of shareholders voted in support of the compensation of the Company's executive officers. Also at the 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, approximately 64% of shareholders voted in favor of an advisory vote on compensation to occur on a three-year basis. Accordingly, the next advisory vote on compensation and advisory vote on compensation occurrence will occur at our 2028 and 2031 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, respectively.

Future advisory votes on executive compensation will serve as an additional tool to guide the Committee in evaluating the alignment of the Company's executive compensation program with the interests of the Company and its stakeholders.

Tax Considerations. The Committee has considered the impact of Section 162(m) of the Code with respect to the compensation paid to our NEOs. As relevant to fiscal 2025 compensation, Section 162(m) places a limit of $1 million on the amount of compensation that a publicly held corporation may deduct in any one year with respect to any person who is or at any time after December 31, 2016 was its CEO, CFO or one of its three other most highly compensated executive officers, with certain exceptions for agreements that were in effect as of November 17, 2017. B. Bradford Martz, Christopher Griffith, Brooke Adler and James Gray exceeded the amount deductible in 2025. The Committee recognizes the need to retain flexibility to make compensation decisions that may result in the payment of compensation that is not deductible and accordingly reserves the authority to approve potentially non-deductible compensation when deemed appropriate.

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Compensation and Benefits Committee Report. Our Committee has reviewed and discussed the Compensation Discussion and Analysis required by Item 402(b) of Regulation S-K with management, and based on such review and discussions, our Committee recommended to our Board that the Compensation Discussion and Analysis be included in this Proxy Statement.

Kent G. Whittemore, Chair

Sherrill W. Hudson

Alec L. Poitevint, II

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EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

2025 SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE

The following Summary Compensation Table displays the compensation received by each of our NEOs during the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023:

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The value of the stock awards was computed in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board Codification Topic 718, Compensation - Stock Compensation. The amounts included in this column for the performance units granted during 2025 are calculated based on the probable satisfaction of the performance conditions for such awards as of the date of grant. Assuming the highest level of performance is achieved for the performance units granted in 2025, the maximum value of such performance units would be as follows: Mr. Martz - $787,500; Mr. Griffith - $315,000; Mr. Gray - $216,563; Ms. Adler - $275,625; and Ms. Castle - $216,563. See Note 20 to our consolidated financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, for a discussion of the relevant assumptions used in calculating the value of the awards granted prior to December 31, 2025. PSU tranches that were eligible to be earned in fiscal 2025 were earned at the maximum 150% due to the targets being exceeded, as described above, under Elements of Executive Compensation - Long Term Incentives.

The restricted stock awards granted to Mr. Peed are for services performed as a Director of our Board for 2023 through 2025. In 2025, 2024 and 2023, 5,000 shares of our common stock were issued in each year which have or will fully vest on the dates of the 2026, 2025, and 2024 Annual Meetings, respectively.

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2025 GRANTS OF PLAN-BASED AWARDS TABLE

The following table contains information concerning the plan-based equity and non-equity awards that were granted to our NEOs in 2025. The amounts shown in the columns under the heading "Estimated Future Payouts Under Non-Equity Incentive Plan Awards" represent potential future payments at the time of the grant only. At the time of the grant, whether these amounts (or any portion thereof) would ultimately be received by the NEOs was uncertain because the awards were contingent on the achievement of performance goals and the NEOs' continued employment. The awards in the columns under the heading "Estimated Future Payouts Under Non-Equity Incentive Plan Awards" were granted under our annual cash incentive program for 2025, as indicated, and payment was contingent on our achievement of a given level of corporate performance, as described above in the section titled Compensation of Executive Officers - Compensation Discussion and Analysis - Elements of Executive Compensation. The amounts, if any, actually earned and paid to our NEOs for 2025 under our Annual Incentive Plan are shown in the Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation column in the 2025 Summary Compensation Tableabove.

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During fiscal 2025, the Compensation Committee granted option awards to our NEOs in the period beginning four business days before our filing of a periodic report on Form 10-K or Form 10-Q or the filing or furnishing of a current report on Form 8-K that disclosed material nonpublic information, and ending one business day after the filing or furnishing of such report (the "Designated Period").

Pursuant to SEC rules, we are providing the following information relating to option awards granted to NEOs in the Designated Period occurring during fiscal 2025:

NARRATIVE DISCLOSURE TO 2025 SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE AND

2025 GRANTS OF PLAN-BASED AWARDS TABLE

Certain elements of compensation set forth in the 2025 Summary Compensation Tablefor the Year Ended December 31, 2025 and Grants of Plan-Based Awards for Year 2025 Table reflect the terms of employment agreements between us and certain of the NEOs.

B. BRADFORD MARTZ

We are party to an employment agreement with Mr. Martz entered into on October 31, 2012 and amended and restated on October 1, 2020. The agreement will remain effective for one-year terms that automatically renew each October 1 until we give or are provided by Mr. Martz with 60 days' notice of termination, or certain other termination events occur. The agreement provides for base salary and eligibility for annual performance-based cash bonuses at the discretion of our Compensation and Benefits Committee. Mr. Martz would be entitled to severance in the event his employment is terminated by us without cause or by himself for good reason (as discussed below under the heading Potential Payments upon Termination or Change of Control). The Compensation and Benefits Committee has discretion to pay additional compensation as it sees fit.

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SVETLANA CASTLE

We are party to an employment agreement with Ms. Castle entered into on January 22, 2024. The agreement will remain effective for one-year terms that automatically renew each January 22 until we give or are provided by Ms. Castle with 60 days' notice of termination, or certain other termination events occur. The agreement provides for base salary and eligibility for annual performance-based cash bonuses at the discretion of our Compensation and Benefits Committee. Ms. Castle would be entitled to severance in the event her employment is terminated by us without cause or by herself for good reason (as discussed below under the heading Potential Payments upon Termination or Change of Control). The Compensation and Benefits Committee has discretion to pay additional compensation as it sees fit.

CHRISTOPHER GRIFFITH

We are party to an employment agreement with Mr. Griffith entered into on October 1, 2018 and amended and restated on October 1, 2020. The agreement will remain effective for one-year terms that automatically renew each October 1 until we give or are provided by Mr. Griffith with 60 days' notice of termination, or certain other termination events occur. The agreement provides for an initial base salary that is subject to annual review and adjustment at the discretion of our Compensation and Benefits Committee. In addition, pursuant to his employment agreement, Mr. Griffith is eligible to receive annual performance-based cash bonuses at the discretion of our Compensation and Benefits Committee. Mr. Griffith would be entitled to severance in the event his employment is terminated by us without cause or by himself for good reason (as discussed below under the heading Potential Payments upon Termination or Change of Control). The Compensation and Benefits Committee has the discretion to pay additional compensation as it sees fit.

BROOKE ADLER

We are party to an employment agreement with Ms. Adler entered into on April 19, 2021. The agreement will remain effective for one-year terms that automatically renew each April 1 until we give or are provided by Ms. Adler with 60 days' notice of termination, or certain other termination events occur. The agreement provides for an initial base salary that is subject to annual review and adjustment at the discretion of our Compensation and Benefits Committee. In addition, pursuant to her employment agreement, Ms. Adler is eligible to receive annual performance-based cash bonuses at the discretion of our Compensation and Benefits Committee. Ms. Adler would be entitled to severance in the event her employment is terminated by us without cause or by herself for good reason (as discussed below under the heading Potential Payments upon Termination or Change of Control). The Compensation and Benefits Committee has discretion to pay additional compensation as it sees fit.

JAMES GRAY

We are party to an employment agreement with Mr. Gray entered into on January 1, 2024. The agreement will remain effective for one-year terms that automatically renew each January 1 until we give or are provided by Mr. Gray with 60 days' notice of termination, or certain other termination events occur. The agreement provides for base salary and eligibility for annual performance-based cash bonuses at the discretion of our Compensation and Benefits Committee. Mr. Gray would be entitled to severance in the event his employment is terminated by us without cause or by himself for good reason (as discussed below under the heading Potential Payments upon Termination or Change of Control). The Compensation and Benefits Committee has discretion to pay additional compensation as it sees fit.

R. DANIEL PEED

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We have not entered into a formal employment agreement with Mr. Peed.

2025 OUTSTANDING EQUITY AWARDS AT FISCAL YEAR END TABLE

The following table sets forth certain information with respect to our NEOs concerning restricted stock and stock option awards that have not vested and vested but unexercised stock options as of December 31, 2025.