Exclusive: Hiscox Syndicate 33 targets return to growth with 12% pre-emption for 2026

By Ryan Hewlett

Aug 21 - (The Insurer) - Hiscox is targeting a preliminary stamp capacity increase of almost 12% for its flagship Syndicate 33 from January 1, 2026, a move that would mark a return to growth for one of Lloyd’s largest syndicates.

If approved, the pre-emption would take Syndicate 33’s stamp capacity to around 1.9 billion pounds ($2.56 billion) for the 2026 year of account, up 11.8% from the 1.7 billion pounds at the start of this year.

Stamp capacity is a unique Lloyd’s metric that largely correlates with premiums written but excludes acquisition costs.

Syndicate 33 underwrites a mixture of reinsurance, property, casualty and marine and energy business, as well as a range of specialty lines including contingency and terrorism risks in property reinsurance coverage.

If the pre-emption proceeds, it would mark the first major stamp capacity increase for Syndicate 33 in four years.

The proposed pre-emption, a 200 million pound increase in nominal terms, follows Hiscox’s first ever capital markets day in May, during which group CEO Aki Hussain offered bullish commentary on the growth opportunity within its reinsurance and London Market divisions.

“We will continue to grow London Market and reinsurance when the market opportunity is right,” he told investors and analysts.

Underwriting and Lloyd’s managing agency sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Insurer that the planned pre-emption would fuel the syndicate’s growth into lines of business where it sees opportunity, including its existing lines of business as well as its portfolio solutions line.

Syndicate 33 reported a 2024 full-year profit of $316.3 million, down 21.4% from the $402.3 million posted in 2023. The syndicate’s combined ratio deteriorated by 6.7 percentage points to 87.5%.

In its annual 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.