Joanne Musselle, Group Chief Underwriting Officer (CUO) of specialist insurer Hiscox, said earlier today that the company’s underwriting edge in reinsurance is driven by a combination of factors.
After releasing a strong set of results for 2025, including a robust performance at Hiscox Re, the firm’s reinsurance business and third-party capital platform, Hiscox executives took questions from analysts on a range of topics.
One of the questions focused on the firm’s underwriting edge in reinsurance and what drives this, in light of Hiscox Re generating profit of $286.7 million for the year, up 7% on 2024’s figure, with yet another strong combined ratio of 67.4%, despite the softening environment and another year of more than $100 billion in nat cat losses.
The firm’s underwriting edge in reinsurance “is a combination” explained Musselle. “So, what we rely on… in that reinsurance world, is the best external models. As an example, we take what’s available, but then we blend and we put overlay what we call a Hiscox view of risk, and we do that across both our reinsurance and indeed, all of our other insurances. And that is really important, and that is proprietary, where we are utilising our own proprietary information, our own bespoke data sets, building in things like that forward looking view of inflation. It was really important for us to get ahead of some of these sub trends and price forward.”
As well as the blend of external and internal data, the CUO highlighted the use of technology in the underwriting process to do a number of things, including making Hiscox Re easier to do business with.
“So, take the reinsurance example, how can we consume submissions quicker? Clearly, the advance of technology enables us to consume more submission in a much shorter time. So, be much better in terms of response time back to, in that instance, brokers, or indeed, more broadly, customers. We’re utilising it there,” she said.
Adding: “And absolutely utilising it to make better decisions. So, whether that is ingesting third party data to make better underwriting decisions, pricing decisions. That’s the second area that we’re utilising it, and clearly making us more efficient. So, I’d say it’s a combination. It definitely is looking outside and taking the best external information that exists, and then blend into that our own proprietary data sets.”
At the January 1st, 2026, reinsurance renewals, elevated competition from incumbent reinsurers and alternative capital saw rates decrease 13% for Hiscox Re, but despite softening, the company feels that 83% of its portfolio is adequate or adequate plus, while reduced outwards reinsurance costs also served as a positive tailwind for the business.
Further, in 2025, Hiscox Re saw rates decline by 5% amid heightened competition, but at year-end, cumulative rate increases since 2018 were 83% for the business. Importantly, terms and conditions remained broadly stable in 2025 and at January 1st, 2026, following the significant adjustments made in 2022 and 2023.
