Summary of Operations and Basis of Presentation (Policies)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2020
Summary of Operation and Basis of Presentation
Summary of Operations	Summary of Operations Palomar Holdings, Inc. (the Company) is an insurance holding company that was incorporated in Delaware on March 14, 2019. Prior to incorporation in Delaware, the Company was known as GC Palomar Holdings (GCPH), which was a Cayman Islands incorporated insurance holding company formed on October 4, 2013 when GC Palomar Investor LP (GCPI) acquired control of GCPH. The Company has several wholly owned subsidiaries including a U.S. insurance subsidiary, Palomar Specialty Insurance Company (PSIC) and a Bermuda based reinsurance subsidiary, Palomar Specialty Reinsurance (PSRE).
Basis of Presentation	Basis of Presentation The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) for interim financial information and include the accounts of the Company and its wholly‑owned subsidiaries. These condensed consolidated financial statements do not contain all information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for complete consolidated financial statements. For a more complete description of the Company’s business and accounting policies, these condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019. In the opinion of management, all adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of the condensed consolidated financial statements have been included. Such adjustments consist only of normal recurring items. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. Interim results are not necessarily indicative of results of operations for the full year.
Stock Split	On March 15, 2019, the Company effected a 17,000,000 for one forward stock split in conjunction with domestication in the United States. All share and per share information included in the condensed consolidated financial statements and notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements have been retroactively adjusted to reflect the stock split for the Company’s common stock for all periods presented.
Use of Estimates	Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect amounts reported in the condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Such estimates and assumptions could change in the future as more information becomes known, which could impact the amounts reported and disclosed herein. All revisions to accounting estimates are recognized in the period in which the estimates are revised. Significant estimates reflected in the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements include, but are not limited to, reserves for losses and loss adjustment expenses, reinsurance recoverables on unpaid losses, and the fair values of investments.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements	Recent Accounting Pronouncements The Company currently qualifies as an emerging growth company (“EGC”) under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. The Company is currently electing to adopt new or revised accounting guidance within the same time periods as private companies as permitted by its status as an EGC. The Company will continue to be an EGC for the first five fiscal years after its initial public offering (“IPO”), unless certain changes occur such as becoming a large accelerated filer. The Company will become a large accelerated filer on December 31, 2020 if the market value of its shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million on June 30, 2020. If the Company becomes a large accelerated filer, it will no longer have the option to adopt guidance within the same time periods as private companies. Recently adopted accounting pronouncements In August 2018, the FASB issued “ASU 2018‑13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework—Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement. Among other things, this new guidance eliminates the need to disclose transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy, changes the policy for timing of transfers and the valuation processes for Level 3 fair value measurements and includes requirements to disclose quantitative information about Level 3 measurements. The Company adopted this guidance on January 1, 2020 and adoption did not have an impact on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements. The Company will continue to monitor the composition of its investment portfolio and will make appropriate disclosures based on this guidance. Recently issued accounting pronouncements not yet adopted In February 2016, the FASB issued new guidance for accounting for leases, “ASU 2016‑02, Leases (Topic 842).” Under current guidance, leases are only included on the balance sheet if the criteria to classify the agreement as a capital lease are met. This update will require the recognition of a right‑of‑use asset and a corresponding lease liability, discounted to the present value, for all leases that extend beyond 12 months. This guidance was subsequently amended multiple times and offers specific accounting guidance for a lessee, a lessor and sale and leaseback transactions. Lessees and lessors are required to disclose qualitative and quantitative information about leasing arrangements to enable a user of the financial statements to assess the amount, timing and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. This new guidance requires a modified retrospective adoption, applying the new standard to all leases existing at the date of initial application, with early adoption permitted. An entity may choose to use the standard’s effective date, rather than the beginning of the earliest comparative period presented, as the date of initial application. An entity would record the effects of initially applying the new guidance as a cumulative‑effect adjustment to retained earnings. Consequently, an entity’s reporting for the comparative periods presented in the year of adoption would continue to be in accordance with the current guidance, including the current disclosure requirements. To facilitate transition, the new guidance includes a package of practical expedients that entities may elect to apply on adoption. The package of practical expedients relates to the identification and classification of leases and initial direct costs for leases that commenced before the effective date. The new guidance also includes a practical expedient permitting the use of hindsight in evaluating lessee options to extend or terminate a lease or to purchase the underlying asset. Under the Company’s current status as an EGC, this update will be effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2020, and interim reporting periods within fiscal years beginning after December 31, 2021 with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that this new guidance will have on its condensed consolidated financial statements. In June 2016, the FASB issued “ASU 2016‑13, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments.” Current guidance delays the recognition of credit losses until it is probable a loss has been incurred. This updated guidance will require financial assets measured at amortized cost to be presented at the net amount expected to be collected by means of an allowance for credit losses that runs through net income. Credit losses relating to available‑for‑sale debt securities will also be recorded through an allowance for credit losses, with the amount of the allowance limited to the amount by which fair value is below amortized cost. In 2019, the FASB issued amendments to this guidance which provide an option to irrevocably elect to measure certain individual financial assets at fair value instead of amortized cost and provide additional clarification and implementation guidance. Under the Company’s current status as an EGC, this update and its amendments will be effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2022, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted, but not before annual reporting periods beginning on or after December 15, 2018. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that this new guidance will have on its condensed consolidated financial statements.