Hiscox finance chief: London’s AI adoption is too slow
Each week, we dig into the memory bank of the City’s great and good. Today, Hiscox group chief financial officer Paul Cooper takes us through his career in insurance in Square Mile and Me
CV
- Name: Paul David Cooper
- Job title:
- Previous roles: Interim group chief financial officer at M&G Plc, deputy chief financial officer at M&G Prudential, group chief financial officer at Arrow Global Group Plc, group chief financial officer at Canopius Group, insurance partner at Ernst & Young LLP, finance director for Hiscox UK and Europe
- Age: 53
- Born: Billericay
- Lives: Islington
- Studied: Economics at the University of Manchester
- Talents: Making a mean chicken curry
- Motto: Throw yourself into things – it’s an adventure
- Biggest perk of the job? The travel
- Coffee order: Flat white… or a cup of tea
- Cocktail order: Negroni
- Favourite book: Anything by Ben Macintyre
What was your first job?
Waiting tables at weddings on the weekend.
What was your first role in the City?
When I graduated, I joined PwC and spent nine years working in audit and consulting across their London, Australia and US offices. That’s also where I trained and qualified as a chartered accountant.
When did you know you wanted to build a career in insurance?
Working at PwC gave me some initial exposure to the insurance market and from the outset I loved the vibrancy of the sector. Nothing happens without insurance – ships don’t sail, planes don’t fly, homes don’t get built – and I got to see first-hand how insurance operates at the core of communities and economies.
What’s one thing you love about Canada?
The sheer pace of life in the City – I find it incredibly energising. You’re never more than a short walk from the people, ideas and opportunities that can shape a business. It’s one of the few places where a coffee can turn into a new deal or a fresh perspective.
And one thing you would change?
The City has always been a place of innovation, but I’d like to see faster adoption of emerging technologies like AI. Maintaining London’s competitive edge means continuing to embrace change – something we’re passionate about at Hiscox. It’s why we were the first in the London insurance market to build an AI-enhanced lead underwriting model and now we’re developing the first agent-to-agent capability between broker and insurer. It’s making sure human judgement is applied where it matters most, rather than on low-value tasks.
What’s been your most memorable business lunch or dinner?
Having dinner with Aki Hussain, Hiscox Group CEO, and being offered the job I have now soon after.
And any business faux pas?
Settling into someone else’s seat on the flight back to Bermuda, which is always populated with plenty of (re)insurance people.
What’s been your proudest moment?
The most recent was when we marked 125 years of Hiscox by opening the day’s trading at the London Stock Exchange. It was a real moment of celebration for what we’ve achieved over that time as a specialist underwriter but also everything still ahead of us.
And who do you look up to?
Entrepreneurs who start their own business – taking a big risk and I admire their courage and conviction.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever been given?
Send the elevator back down. As you progress in your career, you have a responsibility to give back to those that are just starting out. The idea of sending the elevator back down really stuck with me and it’s something I try to do through our employee networks and coaching and mentoring programmes.
And the worst?
That finance is just the numbers. It’s so much more than that. Financial leadership today is really about delivering the strategy as well as business stewardship as you have to be able to balance long-term strategic growth with short-term tactical targets.
Are you optimistic for the year ahead?
Very much so. At Hiscox, we have ambitious growth plans and we are successfully delivering on them.
We’re going for lunch, and you’re picking – where are we going?
If not in the Hiscox office at 22 Bishopsgate – we have great views of St Paul’s – then it would have to be upstairs to Lucky Cat.
And if we’re grabbing a drink after work?
Tower 42.
Where’s home during the week?
Islington.
And where might we find you at the weekend?
Trying out a new restaurant or up north visiting my sons at university.
You’ve got a well-deserved two weeks off. Where are you going and who with?
Italy – the Dolomites with my family.