Hiscox Re, the reinsurance business and third-party capital platform of specialty insurer Hiscox, reported pre-tax profits of $286.7 million in 2025, up 7% from the previous year, with the unit’s undiscounted combined ratio rising to 67.4%.
The global specialty insurer’s reinsurance arm will deliver insurance contract premiums (ICWP) of $1.094 billion in 2025, up 6% from $1.032 billion in the previous year, driven by net growth and increased third-party capital support. Net ICWP increased 8% year over year to $538.7 million, driven by growth in proportional and specialty businesses, including parametric climate resiliency, mortgages and guarantees.
Hiscox Re’s insurance services results increased from $165.7 million in 2024 to $189.4 million in 2025, with the undiscounted combined ratio improving by 1.6 percentage points, driven by good performance in natural catastrophe losses in the second half of the year.
Throughout 2025, Hiscox Re’s rates fell 5% as competition intensified, particularly amid the real estate disaster, but importantly, “points of attachment and terms and conditions remained broadly stable”. By the end of 2025, the cumulative growth rate since 2018 is 83%.
Hiscox Re said rates were down 13% at reinsurance renewal on January 1, 2026 due to competition from existing reinsurers and alternative capital, but noted that “rates across the portfolio remain adequate following significant rate increases since 2018.”
Insurance-linked securities (ILS) assets under management increased from $1.4 billion on January 1, 2025, to $1.5 billion on January 1, 2026, with the business attracting more than $300 million in inflows from new and existing partners during the year, which Hiscox said offset program returns and increased deployable capital levels at renewal in January. The company’s third-party capital platform generated $109.4 million in fee revenue from ILS and quota share partners in 2025, compared with $128.2 million in 2024.
Turning to the Hiscox London market, ICWP increases from $1.229 billion in 2024 to $1.249 billion in 2025, with net ICWP increasing from $879.7 million to $880.9 million. The business’s insurance services performance by 2025 is $160.3 million, up from $141.3 million the previous year. Profit before tax increased from US$215 million to US$255.3 million, and the undiscounted combined ratio dropped from 88.6% to 85.9%.
At Hiscox Retail, ICWP increased from $2.441 billion in 2024 to $2.634 billion in 2025, while net ICWP increased from $2.434 billion to $2.446 billion. The segment’s insurance services results will increase to $267.4 million in 2025 from $261.1 million in the previous year. Profit before tax reached US$352.1 million, an increase from US$317.2 million in the previous year, and the undiscounted combined ratio was 92.6%, slightly lower than 92.9% in 2024.
Group-wide, Hiscox’s ICWP in 2025 was US$4.979 billion, up from US$4.703 billion in the previous year, with net ICWP increasing from US$3.622 billion to US$3.865 billion.
Full-year underwriting results were strong, with insurance services results of $613.9 million in 2025 compared to $553.5 million in 2024. The group’s undiscounted combined ratio increased to 87.8% from 89.2%, while the insurer also benefited from a positive development in reserves in the previous year, which amounted to US$292.7 million, compared with US$145.5 million in 2024. The group’s investment performance also improved year-on-year from US$383.9 million to US$442.7 million.
All told, Hiscox’s 2025 pre-tax profit was $732.7 million, up from $685.4 million in 2024.
“2025 is a key year for Hiscox, with us once again delivering strong results and making excellent progress in executing our growth and change strategy. At Hiscox Retail, we have delivered multi-year growth and margin expansion through new products, deeper distribution, deployment of new technologies and execution of transformative initiatives. Our retail market offers a significant and attractive opportunity and we are on a long-term growth trajectory at rapid execution. In commodities, our expertise and technology capabilities enable us to launch new business initiatives, which are offset by the execution of our strategic agenda, while our commitment to underwriting excellence remains at the core,” said Hiscox Group CEO Aki Hussain.
“Innovation is accelerating across the group, with more products launched this year than in the past five years and employee engagement remains at an all-time high. Our change program is firmly on track and we are building capabilities to improve service and productivity.
“Strong performance and strategic execution have enabled us to reward shareholders with a 20% increase in final dividend per share for the second consecutive year and a third consecutive share buyback, bringing total shareholder returns from dividends and buybacks announced over the past three years to more than $1.1 billion.
He added: “We are a leading pure-play specialist insurer with a diverse and balanced business that is uniquely positioned to seize the opportunities in front of us and create value for shareholders. We are firmly on track to deliver on our strategic initiatives and the guidance set out at Capital Markets Day in May 2025, and I would like to thank all my colleagues for their hard work in driving Hiscox forward.”
