Hiscox announces earnings and chair’s pending departure

Metric

2022

2021

Gross written premium (GWP)

$4.4 billion

$4.3 billion

Underwriting profit

$269.5 million

$215.6 million

Profit before tax

$44.7 million

$190.8 million

Broken down per segment, the bulk of the company’s pre-tax profit came from Hiscox London Market, which posted a 23% increase in underwriting profit for 2022.

Segment

2022 profit/(loss) before tax

2021 profit/(loss) before tax

Hiscox Retail

$(3.4 million)

$54.9 million

Hiscox London Market

$53 million

$104.8 million

Hiscox Re & ILS

$21.5 million

$98.5 million

Hiscox Retail consists of Hiscox UK, Hiscox Europe, Hiscox USA, and Hiscox Asia. On a constant currency basis, GWP in those operations grew 2.8%, 13.6%, 2.1%, and 12%, respectively.

“I am very pleased with the progress made across the group during 2022, as we delivered the strongest underwriting result in seven years,” said group chief executive Aki Hussain. “We have a refined strategy, a new experienced and energetic leadership team, we have made significant progress in rolling out new-generation technology in the USA and Europe, and we are enjoying our highest employee engagement scores in 10 years.

“The outlook for 2023 is very positive. We are facing favourable market conditions in all of our key markets; our talented teams supported by a strong balance sheet and financial flexibility are set to make the most of the significant opportunities ahead.”

Chair retirement

Aside from publishing its 2022 financials, Hiscox also revealed chair Robert Childs’ intention to retire this year.

“After 37 years at Hiscox and 50 in the industry, I am very happy that I will be passing the baton when the business is in such a good place – excellent leadership, strongly capitalised, with favourable market conditions and huge opportunities ahead,” stated Childs, who was commended for his “invaluable” contribution during his tenure.

“An important job for any chairman is overseeing a chief executive transition, and I have been glad not only to ensure a seamless transition from Bronek to Aki but also to work more closely with Aki in… his first year as group CEO. Aki has brought new insights and developed a strong talented executive team, and when the time comes, I will retire a happy shareholder.”

No specific timeline was provided, but it was announced that the search for the chair’s successor has begun.

“Rob has been instrumental in building Hiscox into a respected global brand and has navigated the business expertly through many insurance cycles,” commented Hussain. “His extensive knowledge of both Hiscox and the industry has benefitted the company immeasurably.”

With customers worldwide, Hiscox is manned by more than 3,000 people in 14 countries.