Hiscox UK posts ICWP of $864m for 2024

Hiscox has revealed that its UK insurance contract written premium (ICWP) grew by 5.8% year-on-year on a constant currency basis.

In its full year results for the year ended 31 December 2024, released today (27 February 2025), the insurer said it secured $864m (£682m) in ICWP, up from $793.8m (£630m) in 2023.

ICWP is a performance indicator similar to gross written premium (GWP) that is adjusted to account for insurance revenue, which new accounting requirement IFRS 17 requires.

Hiscox said that UK ICWP grew due to “momentum accelerating in the year as the business continues to benefit from management actions aimed at reinvigorating the brand, improving distribution production and enhancing customer service through technology”.

Meanwhile, Hiscox Retail – of which Hiscox UK makes up just over a third (34%) by ICWP – achieved a combined operating ratio (COR) of 88.9%, an improvement from 91.8% last year.

ICWP in this division also improved, increasing from $2.36bn (£1.86bn) to $2.5bn (£1.97bn) year-on-year.

“This is driven by continued good growth in Europe and US DPD and building momentum in the UK, while the contraction in US broker is slowing,” Hiscox said.

“Rates in retail, a less cyclical business, increased by 2% across our markets, as inflationary pressures abated.”

Group level

Meanwhile, at group level, Hiscox’s ICWP increased from $4.6bn in 2023 to $4.77bn in 2024, while the undiscounted COR improved from 89.8% to 89.2% year-on-year.

Aki Hussain, group chief executive, said: “The group has delivered another set of excellent results and a second consecutive year of record profits.

“Our retail business continues to build broad-based growth and earnings momentum and our big-ticket portfolio has again delivered an outstanding performance, leading to a strong return on equity in an active loss year.

“This earnings momentum underpins substantial capital generation, creating the flexibility to pursue multiple growth opportunities and return 10% of equity to shareholders through a combination of a 20% step-up in the final dividend per share and a $175m share buyback.

“This demonstrates both the power of – and confidence in – the outlook for our diversified business. I would like to thank all of my Hiscox colleagues for their dedication in delivering another strong year.”