International specialist insurer Hiscox is curious about growth opportunities in data centers and has deployed some capacity, but it still needs careful consideration given the potential accumulation risk, group chief underwriting officer (CUO) Joanne Musselle said.
Hiscox held an earnings call after announcing strong financial results for 2025, in which Hiscox Re’s pre-tax profit was US$286.7 million, a year-on-year increase of 7%, and the undiscounted combined ratio increased to 67.4%.
During the call, Musser described data centers as a structural growth opportunity underpinning the digital economy.
“We are curious and we have some capabilities already deployed in our primary business, our London market business and our reinsurance business. But at the moment, we are thoughtful because one of the big areas where we need to make progress is accumulation,” Musser said.
She continued, “At the same time, we’re also investing, deploying some capabilities, and we’re also investing in building our own accumulation model so that we have a very clear idea of ​​where those accumulations are and we can actually manage them ourselves. So, yes, watch it, deploy some capabilities, but also be thoughtful about the accumulation.”
Brokers see data centers as a major opportunity swamp Executives described it as “the largest new business opportunity in 2026” during the 2025 Q4 earnings call. Lockton As data centers evolve into large, complex, multi-billion dollar campuses, the industry is increasingly focusing on risky engineering, according to recent reports. at the same time, Aon CEO Greg Case pointed out that demand in this area alone may generate more than $10 billion in new premiums in 2026.
Musselle also talked about product demand caused by AI bugs/hallucinations, noting that this is an emerging risk.
“There are areas where risk will actually improve because some of them are still driven by fat fingers and actually with AI, there’s a lot more consistency in decision-making. Maybe some of those errors and emissions will actually improve. But there are certainly new areas of risk and we’re taking that seriously,” she said.
“Certainly, from our perspective, we are not going to go down the path of blanket exclusions. We are very thoughtful about the risks they pose, understand those risks, and then really adapt to those risks, either pricing them or providing affirmative insurance. A good example of this is our UK portfolio and our technology, we were one of the first to confirm affirmative AI insurance in that policy.”
Musial said another area Hiscox considered was not just risk, but opportunity.
She noted, “There are a lot of people, there’s a lot of investment in AI and data centers that are tied to this digital world, and all of them need insurance, and we do have the ability to insure advisors in the AI ​​world. So we’re also thinking about this from an opportunity perspective. How do we understand risk? How do we develop our own products and services to help our clients deal with that risk? And also, how do we expand our interest to capture risk?” In terms of their own insurance needs, some of the people in this newer economy? “
During the call, Musser also discussed the company’s underwriting advantage in reinsurance, saying it was driven by a mix of external and internal data and the use of technology in the underwriting process.
