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Joined 2006, current holdings as of 30/12/2013 63,775 valued @ 413,581. Straight buying by her and has an interesting CV...nobodys mug. 13.5p drop today....bounce tomorrow?
Hiscox: Bank of America Merrill Lynch improves target to 550p from 540p, but retains underperform.
Who wants to touch me.... Come on sonny let's make that £5 mark.
Splendid rise if anyone is reading.
Maybe not quite yet then...
I can see a solid rise into the 480's again shortly. It's desperate to crack £5 - hopefully just a matter of time.
International specialist insurer Hiscox has today announced an estimate for the impact of Superstorm Sandy. Although considerable uncertainties still exist around the impact of Superstorm Sandy, the insurer said that based on an insured market loss of $20bn, it estimates net claims of approximately £90m. Superstorm Sandy hit parts of North America and Canada in October causing destruction of buildings and infrastructure. Twice a year Hiscox publishes its expected losses for modelled catastrophes including exposure to US windstorm. The insurer stated that the estimate was within the published range, and was within Hiscox's overall budgeted loss expectations for the year.
Since 22 October, when it first looked likely that Hurricane Sandy could strike New York, Amlin's share price has fallen about 5 per cent. But the shares still trade on 1.3 times Numis's estimate for end 2012 net tangible assets (NTA) of 283p a share. That's not cheap. Shares in Catlin and Beazley trade on 1.1 times and 1.2 times Numis's forecast NTA, while Novae's trade at just 0.8 times. With the outlook for insurance premiums uncertain and Amlin facing the prospect of painful losses from Sandy - a trading update is due on 15 November - expect its share rating to face more pressure. ........but as always dyor gl
Returns from Amlin's investments won't help much, either. True, they are focused on fairly conservative looking bonds and liquid investments and, in the first of 2012, delivered a 2 per cent yield, largely in line with many of Amlin's peers. But Amlin's returns can also look volatile and during 2011, for example, its investments yielded just 0.9 per cent. Still, putting Sandy aside, Amlin's performance in 2012 has been reasonable. With no other significant losses, the group reported a solidly profitable 84 per cent combined ratio for the first half. The dividend yield is nearly 7 per cent, too, based on Numis's full-year forecast payout (see table) - that's one of the best among the UK's listed insurers, with only shares in RSA and motor insurer Admiral yielding more.
The upside from catastrophe claims is that they leave insurers needing to hike premiums in order to rebuild their reserves - good news for longer-term earnings. But Hurricane Sandy may not cause sufficient losses to trigger this. Sandy's possible maximum loss of around $15bn is modest compared with losses of $45bn in 2005 from Hurricane Katrina - an event that did boost rates. While 2011's accumulated losses for all insurers - $116bn according to Swiss Re - only boosted premium rates noticeably on catastrophe-exposed business lines. Before Sandy struck, Numis had even been expecting insurers' average premium rates to fall around 3 per cent during 2013 and it's not clear whether Sandy-related losses will be enough to change that. So Amlin could be left nursing a heavy one-off loss with little scope to bolster rates to compensate.
A string of natural catastrophes in 2011 meant painful losses for insurers. Happily, a benign claims environment in 2012 looked set to signal a return to underwriting profits for insurers. Then there was Hurricane Sandy. The scale of losses as the hurricane ripped up the east coast of the US and deluged New York isn't yet clear. Lloyd's insurer Hiscox, for example, has said that it remains "too early to produce any meaningful estimate of claims". But risk modeller AIR Worldwide thinks the insured losses could range between $7bn (£4.4bn) and $15bn, and that could prove especially painful for Lloyd's underwriter Amlin (AML). The problem is that Amlin looks more exposed to catastrophe-related business than many of its rivals and tends to suffer more when catastrophes strike. Last year's heavy losses demonstrate this (see table). Most of the damage came in the first half when Amlin's combined ratio (of claims to premiums) was a heavily loss-making 122 per cent. In contrast, Beazley didn't slide nearly so far into loss, with a combined ratio of 108 per cent in 2011's first half. Ironically, less than two weeks before Sandy appeared - when it seemed that 2012's hurricane season would pass without serious incident - analysts at broker Numis Securities pointed to Amlin's greater sensitivity to catastrophe claims as a possible bull point. "Amlin is the biggest economic winner from a quiet year for catastrophes," the broker said in a research note.
Specialist insurance group Hiscox said it is too early to produce any meaningful estimate of claims from Sandy as it posted 6.4 per cent increase in gross written premiums for the nine months to September 30th. "New York City and surrounding states are not yet fully functioning as people are struggling to get back to their homes and businesses. We have not received any material notifications of claims from our insurers at this stage," the group said in a company update. The Bermuda-based firm said gross written premiums increased year on year to £1.24bn from £1.17bn before. Chief Executive Bronek Masojada commented: "Until Superstorm Sandy hit last week it had been a relatively quiet year for Hiscox which puts us in a good position to absorb any losses. The devastation wreaked by Sandy reminds us all of the critical role insurers play in people's lives." Its primary US property business experienced rate increases of up to 10% year on year. Reinsurance rates for US and international property catastrophe business rose by 5-10% during the year, it added. Hiscox said the reinsurance teams in Bermuda and London have a very manageable exposure to crop losses caused by drought conditions in the US. Its reserves for the Costa Concordia remain unchanged at net US$20m. Investment return for the period increased by 2.7% year to date while invested assets at the end of September totaled £3.03bn and asset allocation remains largely unchanged from the end of June.
Hiscox Ltd. (HSX) Director name: Mr Ernst Jansen Amount purchased: 3,663 @ 482.15p Value: £17,661
Hiscox Ltd. (HSX) Director name: Ms Andrea Rosen Amount purchased: 3,966 @ 482.15p Value: £19,122
Hiscox, the speciality insurance firm, gets the thumbs up from Tempus in the Times. It, like much of the sector, has avoided serious catastrophe losses following the Japanese and New Zealand earthquakes. In Hiscox’s case this means a return to profits of £46.2m in the first half of the year. The group has also declined business, like the British Grand Prix, which would have made rain related claims. Yielding around 4% and considered to be one of the best insurance firms on the FTSE, Hiscox is a 'buy'.
The strong profits and combined ratio have allowed the board to announce an interim dividend of 6p per share, up 17.6% on the prior year. Hiscox himself is also standing down as Chairman, to be replaced by the group's current Chief Underwriting Officer Robert Childs. This may raise city eyebrows as good practice is for new Chairmen to come in from outside, reinforcing their independence. Nevertheless, with the net asset value per share rising from 296.3p last year to 339.3p this year, investors may cut Hiscox some slack.
Hiscox, the FTSE 250 speciality insurer, is thanking its lucky stars for a first six months of the year that saw no major catastrophes, allowing it to turn a loss in 2011 to an impressive profit in 2012. The company, which is headquartered in Bermuda, wrote gross premiums totalling £906.4m in the six months to the end of June, the figure at the same point last year was £847.5m. Hiscox certainly has some interesting "lines", its Guernsey division focuses on high net worth individuals and insures against kidnap and ransom. It is expanding coverage in the Middle and Far East. Income from people frightened of getting a rather nasty knock on the door helped push profits before tax for the six months to £125.8m against a loss of £85.4m in the prior year. That loss was exceptional as the world was buffeted by several catastrophes in 2011, including the Japan tsunami and the extreme flooding in Thailand. Nevertheless the outgoing Chairman Robert Hiscox is clearly relieved after the "battering" his firm received from mother nature last year.
Outlook Investment returns have traditionally been a large part of the return for us and the insurance industry. Now that they are so much reduced, our underwriting skill will be even more essential in the near future. Reinsurance rates are healthy and property rates in some areas are rising. Otherwise in our retail books life remains competitive, but it always has been and we have specialist products and volume which enables us to compete and grow profitably. As usual, we wait to see what Mother Nature throws at us in the second half, but given nothing absolutely extraordinary happens, I believe I will be handing over to Robert next February the chairmanship of a very healthy business.
Robert Hiscox, Chairman, Hiscox Ltd, commented: "This has been a very good first half, not only due to the lack of catastrophes, but also from careful risk selection and growth in the right areas. All our businesses continue to underwrite with great skill and to search for new opportunities in new markets, backed by strong marketing. I am thoroughly enjoying my last year with the hand on the tiller." Commenting on the appointment of the new Chairman, Richard Gillingwater, Senior Independent Director, said: "The Board conducted a thorough search and assessed a number of candidates. We concluded that Robert Childs is the outstanding candidate to succeed Robert Hiscox. Taking and managing risk is the core business of an insurer, and we believe that Robert's expertise in risk management and the continuity he will provide as Chairman of the Board will be of great benefit to our shareholders and policyholders alike. Mindful of the UK Corporate Governance Code, the Board consulted with the company's major shareholders, holding about 30% of the company's shares, who unanimously supported our view."
Highlights · Interim pre-tax profit of £125.8 million (2011: loss £85.6 million), a welcome return to profit after the unprecedented level of catastrophes in 2011. · Gross written premiums increased by 7.0% to £906.4 million (2011: £847.5 million) with targeted growth in areas where rates are rising. · Interim dividend increased by 17.6% to 6.0p (2011: 5.1p). · Group combined ratio 81.7% (2011: 116.9%). · Net asset value per share 339.3p (2011: 296.3p). · Catastrophe reserves holding steady. · Investment return of 3.1% annualised (2011: 2.0% annualised). · Robert Childs to succeed Robert Hiscox as Chairman.
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201207300700077465I
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201207160701016636H
Hiscox: Jefferies ups target from 452p to 490p, buy rating retained.
Bronek Masojada, Chief Executive, commented: "The year has started well with good growth in retail lines, a strong investment return and the reinsurance renewals in April beating our expectations."
Interim Management Statement Hamilton, Bermuda (8 May 2012) -- Hiscox Ltd (LSE:HSX), the international specialist insurer, today issues its Interim Management Statement for the first three months of the year to 31 March 2012. Hiscox's gross written premiums remained broadly stable at £450.7 million (2011: £453.5 million) as the Group withheld some reinsurance capacity in the first quarter anticipating better rates and terms later in the year. After two busy years of claims activity, it has been a relatively benign quarter for most areas of the business.