Hiscox Re & ILS, the international reinsurance and insurance-linked securities arm of the Hiscox Group, has reported that insurance contract written premiums (ICWP) grew to $1.017 billion in the first nine months of 2024, up 4.3% from the same period of 2023.
According to the firm, most growth was achieved during the January renewals, when market conditions were most attractive.
Meanwhile, net ICWP for Hiscox Re & ILS grew by 12% to $491 million for the first 9M of 2024, as the business deployed additional capital into the attractive underwriting conditions.
Hiscox ILS assets under management were $1.5 billion as of 30 September 2024, and the pipeline of potential investors ahead of the January renewals is reportedly robust.
“Net premiums have more than doubled since 2020, as retained premium growth followed improving market conditions,” Hiscox explained in its results.
The firm added, “The market has remained disciplined throughout the year, with rates flat on average across our portfolio for the first 9M of the year. The market remains attractive following cumulative rate increases of 90% since 2018. Attachment points and terms and conditions have broadly held firm during the year.
“We continue to see strong and growing demand from cedants, which has been met by supply, but at an appropriate price. As anticipated, at the mid-year renewals there were some rate reductions in the upper layers of structures and on higher quality business, however these were from generationally high levels.
“The positive outlook for the January 2025 renewal rates is likely to be reinforced following the impacts of Hurricanes Helene and Milton.”
Turning to the Hiscox Retail business, ICWP increased by $99 million to $1.922 billion for the first 9M of 2024, which was consistent with the firm’s expectations of non-linear growth. Rates in Retail increased 2% across the markets, as inflation continued to moderate.
At the same time, Hiscox London Market ICWP for the first 9M of 2024 was $932.3 million, a decline of 2.9% year-on-year. Overall, Hiscox London Market has achieved rate increases of 3% year to date, with cumulative rate increases of 75% since 2018 and returns reportedly remaining attractive across many lines.
Group-wide, Hiscox disclosed that ICWP increased by $113.1 million to $3.872 billion for the first 9M of 2024, mainly due to the aforementioned continued capital deployment in Re & ILS and solid Retail growth. Investment income for the period was $346.6 million, marking a year-to-date return of 4.3%.
Discussing the claims environment, Hiscox noted that Q3 saw a number of US hurricanes make landfall, including Beryl, Debby, Francine and Helene. There was additional flooding in Europe and a series of events in Canada.
“While the period was active and we are focused on supporting our customers affected by these tragic events, our natural catastrophe and overall claims experience in the first nine months of 2024 was within expectations,” Hiscox said.
The firm continued, “On 9 October, Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida as a category 3 hurricane. The Group expects to reserve a net loss of $75 million, based on an industry-insured loss of $40 billion, which is split broadly equally between our London Market and Re & ILS businesses. We remain within our full year catastrophe loss expectations.”
Aki Hussain, Chief Executive Officer, Hiscox Ltd, commented, “The Group continues to deliver a solid performance, with our combined focus on building growth and earnings momentum.
“Our priorities of achieving high-quality growth in all markets in our Retail business, and selectively deploying capital into attractive big-ticket lines, are unchanged and we continue to make significant progress against the Group’s strategy to deliver sustainable, less volatile returns while growing the business.”
