Hiscox Syndicate 33 GWP drops to $2.33 billion in 2024, combined ratio slips to 87.5%

By Ryan Hewlett

March 20 - (The Insurer) - Hiscox has reported an 87.5% combined ratio for its flagship Syndicate 33 for 2024, with its top and bottom lines both down year on year.

The syndicate’s combined ratio deteriorated by 6.7 percentage points from the 79% reported in 2023, according to its full-year report and accounts.

One of Lloyd’s largest syndicates, Syndicate 33 reported a profit of $316.3 million for the year, down 21.4% on the $402.3 million posted in 2023.

In its report and accounts, the syndicate noted that 2024 saw an active wind season, including hurricanes Helene and Milton, along with notable loss activity in upstream energy, space and product recall, along with the Baltimore bridge loss.

Gross written premiums declined by 0.6% to $2.33 billion in 2024.

The decrease was driven by the syndicate’s continued pullback from casualty business due to adverse pricing trends, along with the decision last year to cease underwriting space business in response to a “persistently adverse” claims environment.

In contrast, Hiscox said the syndicate benefited from “notable growth” in reinsurance, property and specialty classes alongside new business from ESG Syndicate 3033.

ESG Syndicate 3033 was launched on April 1, 2023 as a sub-syndicate of Syndicate 33. The sub-syndicate brings additional insurance capacity and support for clients who demonstrate a responsible ESG record, such as renewable energy generators and energy storage providers.

Hiscox noted that the syndicate’s investment return was a “significant contribution to profit” in 2024. Investment income for the syndicate was a gain of $128 million, up from $116.6 million in 2023 and equating to a positive return of 4.8%.

Hiscox’s catastrophe specialist Special Purpose Arrangement 6104 reported a profit of $31.7 million for 2024, up from $26.9 million in 2023.

The SPA reported GWP of $75.3 million in 2024, up almost fourfold from $19.6 million the previous year.

Hiscox said the syndicate benefited from releasing COVID-19-related reserves from older years of account, as well as prior-year catastrophe reserves for several events including Hurricane Ian and Typhoon Jebi. These releases offset the impact of hurricanes Helene and Milton and the Baltimore bridge loss in 2024.

SPA 6104 has now closed its 2020 year of account after 60 months. The year of account was previously kept open because it held a large reserve for business interruption claims arising from the COVID pandemic.