AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Hiscox Ltd and Its Subsidiaries
- November 13, 2025 12:24 PM (EST)
//BestWire// - AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) of “a+” (Excellent) of Hiscox Insurance Company (Bermuda) Limited (HIB), Hiscox Insurance Company Limited (HICL) (United Kingdom), Hiscox Insurance Company (Guernsey) Limited (HIG) and Hiscox Insurance Company Inc. (HICI) (Chicago, Illinois, USA). At the same time, AM Best has affirmed the Long-Term ICR of “bbb+” (Good) of Hiscox Ltd (Hiscox) (Bermuda), the ultimate non-operating holding company of the Hiscox group of companies. The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.
The ratings of Hiscox reflect the group’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. The ratings of HIB, HICL, HIG and HICI reflect their strategic importance to Hiscox, as well as their integration within the group.
The Hiscox group is a well-established international insurer and reinsurer with a diversified book of business. The group has a strong presence in the Lloyd’s market, primarily through Syndicate 33, which is one of the largest Lloyd’s syndicates based on 2024 gross written premium.
The Hiscox group’s balance sheet strength is underpinned by its consolidated risk-adjusted capitalisation at the strongest level, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR). The balance sheet strength assessment also considers the group’s good financial flexibility, its conservative investment strategy and prudent reserving practices. An offsetting factor is the group’s material exposure to catastrophe risk, although this risk is well-managed through the use of reinsurance and its experienced catastrophe exposure team.
Hiscox has a track record of strong underwriting performance across the cycle, supported by a diverse earnings profile. In recent years, underwriting portfolio management and favourable market conditions have supported robust technical performance, as evidenced by a three-year (2022-2024) weighted average net/net combined ratio of 88.1%, as calculated by AM Best. AM Best expects the group’s performance to remain strong across the underwriting cycle, supported by Hiscox’s segmental diversification, with the retail business offsetting pressures from big ticket business that remains exposed to moderate rate softening, as well as volatility from potential catastrophe losses.
This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best’s website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best’s Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best’s Credit Ratings (BCR), Best’s Performance Assessments (PA), Best’s Preliminary Credit Assessments (PCA) and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best’s Ratings & Assessments.
AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City.