Hiscox Ltd (LSE:HSX) said its underwriting profits stayed healthy in the first half of 2024 despite a ‘more active’ claims environment.
There was no mention if the insurance giant had any exposure (or not) to the recent Crowdstrike IT outage that crippled businesses and organisations around the world and is expected to see billions paid out in compensation.
Flooding in Dubai and Germany, storms in the US and an earthquake in Taiwan all affected the period, however, as did the Baltimore Bridge collapse though Hiscox said claims were within its expectations.
Underwriting profits in the six months to end June 2024 rose to US$240.7 million (US$221.4 million) with investment income up by 25% at US$152.4 million, giving a pre-tax total of US$283.5 million, up by around 7%.
Premiums written rose by 3.3% to US$2.81 billion.
Hiscox added that conditions in the property market remain among the best seen for a decade while cyber and directors liability (D&O lines), where rates fell by 9% and 8% respectively, are being 'managed'.
Aki Hussain, chief executive, said Hiscox had been “deploying capital to generate profitable growth and investing in underwriting and technology capabilities to build out our competitive advantage.
“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 interim dividend rises to 13.2c from 12.5c.
Shares eased 1.8% to 1,145p.