HISCOX TO CUT SYNDICATE CAPACITY TO £1.4BN

Specialty insurance group Hiscox is planning to cut capacity on its flagship Lloyd’s syndicate by 12% next year on the back of only weak improvement in market conditions. The London-listed group will, subject to Lloyd’s approval, reduce the capacity of syndicate 33 to £1.4bn ($1.84bn) in 2019 from its present capacity of £1.6bn. Hiscox said it needed to remain “disciplined” as market conditions, “while better than previous years, have not improved sufficiently to warrant additional capacity for growth”. Last year the group increased the syndicate’s capacity by nearly 40% in a bid to take advantage of better market conditions after last year’s record catastrophe losses. However, rates have not increased as expected and Lloyd’s is cracking down on underperforming syndicates and business lines after it reported a £2bn loss last year.