Hiscox Ltd on Wednesday said it built on momentum from 2023 as it anticipates further growth in the future.
The Hamilton, Bermuda-based insurer said pretax profit rose 7.1% to $283.5 million in the first half of 2024 from $264.8 million a year prior.
Insurance contract written premiums climbed 3.3% to $2.81 billion from $2.72 billion.
Chief Executive Officer Aki Hussain said: ‘Our business has built on the momentum from 2023 and delivered strong profits and robust growth in the first half. We are focused on deploying capital to generate profitable growth and investing in underwriting and technology capabilities to build out our competitive advantages. This has delivered a strong and increased underwriting result of $241 million, despite a more active loss environment, and positions us well to deliver high-quality growth through the insurance cycle.’
The company declared an interim dividend of 13.2 cents, up 5.6% from 12.5c.
Hiscox expects growth momentum to continue building gradually in Retail, noting that its diversified business portfolio was well positioned for ‘high-quality earnings in 2024 and over the long term.’
Looking ahead, CEO Hussain said: ‘For the full year we expect to continue to see strong net growth in line with the first half, which will exceed top-line growth as we continue to anticipate ILS fund outflows. We face into the US wind season well capitalised and with a high-quality portfolio written at attractive rates.’ ILS is an investment manager within Hiscox.
Hiscox shares fell 3.8% to 1,124.96 pence each on Wednesday morning in London.
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