Hiscox delivers healthy H1 growth

London-based global insurer Hiscox has reported further strong premium growth and healthy profits in the first half of this year.

The company said it has successfully managed cycles within its core personal and commercial retail lines, as well as reinsurance and ILS business.

Cycle management will become increasingly important for insurers over coming renewals as the overall market looks sets to soften.

Hiscox reported insurance contract written premium up by $89.6m, or 3.3%, to $2.8bn in the first half, driven by “sustained retail growth and additional capital deployed in big-ticket property”.

Profit before tax grew 7.1% to $283.5m in the first half of this year from $264.8m.

This was underpinned by an insurance service result of $240.7m, up 8.7% from $221.4m, and an investment result of $152.4m, up 25.1% from $121.8m. The undiscounted combined ratio of 90.4% was slightly down from 90.2% in the first half of 2023, in what Hiscox said was a “more active” loss environment.

Aki Hussain, group CEO, commented: “Our business has built on the momentum from 2023 and delivered strong profits and robust growth in the first half. We are focused on deploying capital to generate profitable growth and investing in underwriting and technology capabilities to build out our competitive advantages. This has delivered a strong and increased underwriting result of $241m, despite a more active loss environment, and positions us well to deliver high-quality growth through the insurance cycle.”