AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) of "a+" (Excellent) of Hiscox Insurance Company (Bermuda) Limited (HIB), Hiscox Insurance Company Limited (HICL) (United Kingdom), Hiscox Insurance Company (Guernsey) Limited (HIG) and Hiscox Insurance Company Inc. (HICI) (Chicago, Illinois, USA). At the same time, AM Best has affirmed the Long-Term ICR of "bbb+" (Good) of Hiscox Ltd (Hiscox) (Bermuda), the ultimate non-operating holding company of the Hiscox group of companies. The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.
The ratings of Hiscox reflect the group's balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. The ratings of HIB, HICL, HIG and HICI reflect their strategic importance to Hiscox, as well as their integration within the group.
The Hiscox group is an international insurer and reinsurer with good brand strength and a diversified book of business. The group has a strong presence in the Lloyd's market, primarily through Lloyd's Syndicate 33, which is one of the largest Lloyd's syndicates based on 2023 gross written premium.
The Hiscox group's balance sheet strength is underpinned by consolidated risk-adjusted capitalisation at the strongest level, as measured by Best's Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR). The balance sheet strength assessment also considers the group's good financial flexibility and strong liquidity profile. The group has a prudent reserving strategy, demonstrated by a history of positive overall reserve development.
Hiscox has a track record of strong underwriting performance across the cycle, supported by a geographically diverse earnings profile. Ongoing underwriting portfolio management has supported improved technical performance in recent years. In 2023, Hiscox reported a combined ratio (net/net) of 87.7%, representing a 1.8 percentage point improvement compared to 2022, as calculated by AM Best on an IFRS-17 basis. AM Best expects the group's performance to remain strong over the short to medium term, supported by favourable market conditions in the majority of Hiscox's lines of business and moderate investment returns.
This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best's Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best's Credit Ratings, Best's Performance Assessments, Best's Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best's Ratings Assessments.
AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specialising in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.
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Contacts:
Stanislav Stoev, ACCA, CFA
Senior Financial Analyst, Analytics
+44 20 7397 0306
stanislav.stoev@ambest.com
Christopher Sharkey
Associate Director, Public Relations
+1 908 882 2310
christopher.sharkey@ambest.com
Kanika Thukral
Associate Director, Analytics
+44 20 7397 0327
kanka.thukral@ambest.com
Al Slavin
Senior Public Relations Specialist
+1 908 882 2318
al.slavin@ambest.com
