Hiscox: UK business in ‘growth mode’ as hard market continues
Lloyd’s of London insurer Hiscox has grown its written premium by 8.3 per cent as the FTSE 250 carrier shrugged off a contraction in its London market.
The firm said in a trading update on Thursday that its insurance contract written premium (ICWP) grew to $1.54bn (£1.23bn) in the first three months of 2024, from $1.42bn (£1.13bn) during the same period last year.
Hiscox was boosted by its reinsurance and insurance-linked strategy business, which it said deployed additional capital and new quota share capacity. The unit’s ICWP grew 19 per cent.
It said that for the first time in a number of years, all parts of its UK business were in “growth mode” and that Europe was also performing strongly.
Last year, Hiscox saw its highest-ever annual profit on the back of higher interest rates and a strong performance from its commercial business.
Hiscox’s retail ICWP grew 5.8 per cent in constant currency during the first quarter, while US digital partnerships and direct growth rose to 11.3 per cent.
The firm’s London market ICWP “contracted temporarily” during the quarter, which it said was driven by “the non-renewal of certain large binder deals to instead write more open market business and also due to the impact of one-off accounting reclassification items”.
Hiscox expected the contraction to be offset by growth over the course of 2024. It said rating in the London market came in ahead of expectations during the period, with an average rate increase of three per cent.
“The outlook for growth in our UK business is positive for the year, however, the comparative will be temporarily moderated in the second quarter due to some non-recurring premium recognised in June 2023,” the firm said.
It added that large natural catastrophe losses in the first quarter were “well within expectations”.
Chief executive Aki Hussain commented: “A good start to 2024, with our focus on profitable growth continuing to deliver. Retail momentum has improved with growth accelerating in Hiscox UK and US DPD as our initiatives achieve targeted outcomes, and solid sustained growth in Hiscox Europe.
“In Hiscox London Market and Hiscox Re & ILS we continue to deploy capital where we see attractive opportunities. The outlook for the year remains positive.”