Hiscox Re & ILS, the reinsurance and insurance-linked securities division of Hiscox, posted a pre-tax profit of $267.5 million for 2024, marking a significant rise from $221.4 million in 2023. The company also improved its undiscounted combined ratio to 69%, highlighting its strong underwriting performance.
Hiscox Re & ILS crossed the $1 billion threshold in insurance contract written premium (ICWP), with a 4.7% increase year-over-year, reaching $1.03 billion. Net ICWP experienced even stronger growth, rising 11.1% to $499.3 million, driven by strategic capital deployment in response to favorable market conditions. The segment’s insurance service result stood at $165.7 million, underscoring another year of robust performance.
Hiscox’s retail division, which spans Hiscox UK, Hiscox Europe, Hiscox USA, and DirectAsia, saw ICWP rise by 5.1% to $2.5 billion. The segment reported an insurance service result of $246.5 million, a 39% year-over-year increase, with its undiscounted combined ratio improving to 93.6%. Pre-tax profit climbed to $298.5 million, up from $256 million in 2023.
Hiscox London Market Faces Challenges
The Hiscox London Market segment reported a 2% decline in ICWP, falling to $1.23 billion. The company attributed this drop to cycle management in casualty lines and its exit from the space market. However, growth resumed in property and crisis management, driven by attractive market opportunities and a 2% rate increase. Hiscox London Market maintained an undiscounted combined ratio of 88.6%, marking its fifth consecutive year in the 80s, despite losses from Hurricanes Milton and Helene and other man-made events. Profit before tax for the segment fell to $215 million, down from $262.7 million in 2023.
In a statement released by Hiscox, a spokesperson said: “2024 was an active natural catastrophe year, with five hurricanes making landfall in the USA, flooding in Spain, Germany and central Europe, and a number of weather events in Canada. Natural catastrophe losses were within expectations, with a reduction in our initial loss estimate from Hurricane Milton offset by an increase in the amounts reserved for certain other 2024 loss events.
“In addition, there were a number of man-made losses that affected our big-ticket business in 2024. These included a net loss of $28 million from the MV Dali collision in Baltimore and a number of small- to mid-size events.”
Swiss Re Reports $3.2 Billion Net Income as P&C Re Book Expands
Swiss Re announced a 3% rise in net income for 2024, reaching $3.2 billion, driven by disciplined underwriting despite a 9% drop in underwriting profit to $4.3 billion.
The global reinsurer reported a group-wide return on equity (ROE) of 15%, slightly down from 16.2% in 2023. Insurance revenue increased from $43.9 billion to $45.6 billion, supported by investment contributions across all segments. However, reserve additions of $2.4 billion in Q3 2024 partially offset these gains.
In the property and casualty (P&C) reinsurance segment, net income fell 20% to $1.2 billion, impacted by strengthening US liability reserves. Large catastrophe claims, including Hurricanes Milton, Debby, and Helene, the Calgary hailstorm, Storm Boris in Europe, and Gulf region flooding, totaled $1 billion. The P&C combined ratio deteriorated to 89.9%, missing Swiss Re’s target of sub-87%.
At the January 1, 2025, reinsurance renewals, Swiss Re expanded its P&C book by 7%, pushing premium volume to $13.3 billion, with a 2.8% price increase.
Meanwhile, Swiss Re’s life and health (L&H) reinsurance segment saw net income rise to $1.5 billion, benefiting from investment gains, though partially offset by assumption reviews. The commercial insurance arm, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, recorded a 26% profit increase to $829 million, with large catastrophe losses totaling $344 million.
The company also issued a preliminary loss estimate of $700 million for Los Angeles, California, wildfires, expected to impact Q1 2025 results.
“Our focus in 2024 was on profitability and resilience. Our results for the period reflect this and show that we are on the right track: we have delivered strong net income and ROE, while achieving our goal of positioning overall P&C reserves at the higher end of our best-estimate range,” said Swiss Re’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Andreas Berger.
“The strong underlying Business Unit performance is being supported by continued underwriting discipline and recurring investment income. The Group’s earnings power, combined with the reserving actions taken in 2024, give us confidence to increase the pay-out to investors by proposing an 8% higher ordinary dividend of USD 7.35 per share,” added John Dacey, Group Chief Financial Officer.
Looking ahead, Swiss Re has confirmed the financial targets announced in December 2024, including net income across the Group of more than $4.4 billion. P&C Re is aiming for a combined ratio of less than 85%, L&H Re is targeting net income of $1.6 billion, and Corporate Solutions targets a combined ratio of less than 91% for 2025.
“All our businesses have started 2025 in a strong position, thanks to the resilient foundation we have created and disciplined underwriting as evidenced by the successful January renewals. We remain focused on delivering on our targets for the year and reaching our cost efficiency goals,” Berger added.
Aviva Delivers Strong Financial Results, Reports 20% Growth in Operating Profit
Aviva reported a 20% increase in group operating profit, reaching £1.77 billion in 2024, up from £1.47 billion in 2023. The insurer’s underlying Solvency II own funds generation (OFG) rose 18% to £1.5 billion, while cash remittances climbed 5% to £1.99 billion.
Amanda Blanc, Group Chief Executive Officer, said: “2024 was an excellent year, right across Aviva. We made clear strategic progress and delivered another set of very good numbers, with higher sales, higher operating profit and a higher dividend. Over the last four and a half years we have completely transformed Aviva, built a track record of consistently strong results, and returned £10 billion to shareholders.
“Our success is built on delivering excellent customer service. We now have 17 million customers in the UK – more than any other insurer – and with our diverse range of products across insurance, wealth, and retirement, we’re serving more customer needs, which is fuelling growth throughout the business.
“The proposed acquisition of Direct Line is on track and is a clear opportunity to accelerate our capital-light growth, deliver brilliant service to millions more customers, and support the wider development of the UK economy.
Blanc added: “Aviva is in great shape. We have clear trading momentum which is generating strong and reliable growth. We have increased our dividend, again, and are committed to growing it further. There is so much untapped potential for Aviva to go after and I have real confidence in our ability to unlock this. So I’m more excited about Aviva’s future than ever before, and I’m personally looking forward to delivering this next phase of progress.”
Key performance highlights include:
- General insurance premiums: Up 14% to £12.2 billion.
- Wealth net flows: Up 23% to £10.3 billion.
- Retirement sales: Up 33% to £9.4 billion, fueled by record-breaking bulk purchase annuity sales of £7.8 billion.
Aviva’s Solvency II return on equity stood at 13.6%, while its IFRS return on equity climbed to 15.6%, compared to 12.7% in 2023.
The company also announced a 7% increase in its final dividend per share to 23.8p, bringing total dividends to 35.7p per share.
Aviva continues its shift toward capital-light businesses, with 56% of 2024 operating profit now derived from these areas. The insurer’s proposed acquisition of Direct Line is expected to enhance profitability further, with completion anticipated by mid-2025.
