LONDON, March 9, 2026, 23:15 GMT
Hiscox Ltd said on Monday it bought back 69,849 shares on March 6 at an average 1,459.08 pence each and will cancel them, the latest step in its $300 million share buyback — where a company purchases and retires its own stock. The insurer also said future repurchase notices will move from daily to weekly statements after a UK listing-rule change, while keeping the same trade detail. 1
The update matters because it turns a promised capital return into live execution just days after Hiscox launched the programme alongside its annual results. The Bermuda-based insurer said the first $150 million tranche should be completed by end-Q3 and that as many as 20.8 million shares can be repurchased under the current shareholder authority, with the stated aim of reducing share capital, though it said there was no guarantee the plan would be implemented in full. 2
Hiscox reported last month that written premiums rose 5.9% to $4.98 billion in 2025 and profit before tax hit a third straight record at $732.7 million. Its combined ratio — claims and expenses as a share of premiums — improved to 87.8%, well below the 100% line that marks underwriting profit, while the final dividend was lifted 20%. Chief Executive Aki Hussain said “2025 was a pivotal year for Hiscox.” 3
On the results call, CFO Paul Cooper said strong capital generation would lift shareholder returns tied to 2025 to more than $450 million, while Hussain said retail premium growth should build to 8% in 2026 after 6.3% growth last year. 4
The move also comes as rival specialist insurer Beazley, which agreed this month to a $10.8 billion takeover by Zurich Insurance, reported a 19% drop in annual pre-tax profit amid softer pricing and weak growth in cyber insurance. The contrast keeps the focus on how Hiscox and its peers defend margins while still returning cash to shareholders. 5
But the backdrop is not clean. Management said softer pricing — industry shorthand for lower premium rates — has continued into 2026, with January renewals in the London Market down 4% and reinsurance down 13%, especially in property-catastrophe business, even though Hiscox says most of the portfolio still offers adequate returns. 4
Claims risk is still there. Group Chief Underwriting Officer Joanne Musselle told analysts, “We ourselves reserved $170 million for that event,” referring to the California losses at the start of the year, and said most of the reserve sat in reinsurance. 4
A week earlier, Hiscox said its Syndicate 33 unit at Lloyd’s was still expected to generate a 3.5% to 13.5% return on business written in 2025, while the 2024 forecast was nudged up to 3.4% to 15.4% from 2.4% to 14.4%. For a company now stepping deeper into a buyback, that kept the underwriting message broadly steady. 6
