Hiscox's Markham: Rate increases are ahead of expectations
Insurer's London Market chief executive, Kate Markham, discusses growth, post-Covid working and Lloyd's reforms in the latest Insurance Day podcast
Hiscox London Market is seeing strong premium growth in a majority of lines as rate increases surpass expectations.
Speaking on Insurance Day's latest podcast, Kate Markham, chief executive of Hiscox London Market, said rate growth in a majority of lines is “running ahead of where we thought we would be this year”.
Flood, space, cyber and directors' and officers' (D&O) liability were seeing the strongest growth.
Markham said flood and space premiums were growing through both rate increases and exposure growth. Cyber and D&O premium expansion is mainly driven by strong rate increases.
Hiscox London Market expects most lines to continue firming not just this year but into 2022. Markham added that rates “may level off” into 2023, at which point they would become very attractive for carriers.
Much will depend on losses this year, but Markham said she “feels pretty confident about rates hardening this year and next year”.
Markham added that the transition to working from home because of Covid-19 went far better than expected, echoing other London market chief executives.
“I think it’s fair to say we genuinely miss...the face-to-face marketplace,” she said. “We see people coming back and meetings with brokers coming back into the diary. I expect that to continue.”
However, she noted that Covid-19 will certainly lead to permanent changes to working practices. “Are we ever going to go back five days a week at your desk in the city? I don’t think that’s going to happen,” she added.
For more, including Markham's views on Lloyd’s reforms, listen to the full podcast, above.