It’s the turn of specialist global insurer Hiscox Ltd to share its story of turning things around – from last year’s US$138.9 million (around SG$187.7 million) pre-tax loss in the first half to H1 2021’s profit before tax of US$133.4 million (around SG$180.3 million).
“This is a good result driven by strong performances across all our businesses,” said chief executive Bronek Masojada, who is retiring at the end of 2021. “Our investments in digital trading continues to bear fruit and market conditions are the best we have experienced for many years.
“Hiscox has the fire-power, new leadership and talent to capture the many opportunities ahead.”
Gross written premium (GWP), meanwhile, rose 8.5% to US$2.4 billion. The group cited “good growth and positive rate momentum” in all its divisions – Hiscox Retail, Hiscox London Market, and Hiscox Re & ILS. The retail business, in particular, saw a 7.9% increase in GWP.
Additionally, the insurer’s group combined ratio stood at 93.1%. It was 114.6% in the same six-month span last year.
Meanwhile the company noted: “Having carefully considered the capital requirements of the business, the board has approved the decision to resume the payment of the interim dividend at 11.5 cents per share with a progressive dividend policy going forward.”
Hiscox – which has customers worldwide and employs more than 3,000 people in 14 countries – said the record date for the dividend will be August 13 while the payment date will be September 22.
