The latest financial figures for Hiscox show a sharp elevation in pre-tax profit on rising premium rates during the first half of the year, rising to $265.8 million compared with $25.4 million during the same period last year.

The net investment result for the company registered and domiciled in Bermuda was also much improved, $121.8 million compared with a loss of $214.1 million during the first half of 2022.

Earnings per share were 72.2 cents, compared with 9.8 cents during the first half of 2022.

Other improvements included a group combined ratio of 85.7 per cent compared with 90.8 per cent in H1 2022, and a return on equity of 19.9 per cent compared with 2.6 per cent in H1 2022.

Aki Hussain, group chief executive, said his firm has delivered growth and profits in every business unit, which he attributed to “proactive and disciplined” underwriting and favourable market conditions.

“Our portfolio of businesses, our people and innovation to meet the changing needs of our customers position us well to continue delivering high-quality growth and earnings,” Mr Hussain said.

He was pleased with the progress they had made this year in maximising the strength of their portfolio of businesses.

“All of our three business segments have delivered strong growth and earnings and are well positioned to continue to do so, as we face into favourable market and societal trends,” he said.

“Our diverse business portfolio enables Hiscox to operate in a number of different parts of the specialist insurance sector, allocating capital with agility to areas of expertise which offer the highest risk-adjusted returns. This has enabled us to deliver a half-year annualised return of equity of 19.9 per cent.”

Group net insurance contract written premium increased by 11.4 per cent in constant currency to $1,945.6 million (H1 2022: $1,784.5 million).

“Our reinsurance business is leaning into the hard market in a focused way and enjoying some of the best market conditions in over a decade,” Mr Hussain said.

“Our London market business has returned to growth, as we believe the property book is priced adequately following significant re-rating and we are benefiting from attractive new growth opportunities in upstream energy, marine and renewables.”

He said in retail the opportunity remains significant, particularly in the United States, as the digitalisation of small businesses continues to accelerate and new business formation levels remain strong.

Hiscox had a retail ICWP of $1,271.0 million (H1 2022: $1,237.7 million), increasing by 5.5 per cent in constant currency. This segment comprises their global retail businesses including Hiscox UK, Hiscox Europe, Hiscox USA and DirectAsia.