The launch of Hiscox Capital Partners, which brings together under a single structure all the capital partnership activity that Hiscox Re has managed for nearly two decades, represents a natural evolution for Hiscox, as it allows the firm to go to market with a broader, more coherent proposition that meets capital partners where they are, according to Liz Breeze, Head of Hiscox Capital Partners.We recently spoke to Breeze about a number of different topics, such as why now was the right time for the rebranding, and how Hiscox Capital Partners can provide institutional investors with better access to the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market.Hiscox Re, the reinsurance division of Hiscox Group, announced the launch of Hiscox Capital Partners as a new business unit to consolidate all the capital partnership activity the organisation has managed for nearly two decades, including third-party capital and insurance-linked securities (ILS).“We have been managing third-party capital for nearly two decades, having begun with a traditional quota share property catastrophe strategy.

We were ceding business to a panel of partners that expanded into setting up our own dedicated Syndicate 6104 at Lloyd’s – which now has one of the best track records in the Lloyd’s market.Following on from this, we continued to build our offerings and about 10 years ago expanded into ILS funds,” Breeze explained to Artemis.“Bringing these offerings together under one unified platform was a natural evolution for us.

It means we can go to market with a broader, more coherent proposition that meets capital partners where they are, while tailoring solutions to their individual needs.“We find that our capital partners value simplicity, clarity and flexibility, which is why our platform is deliberately not a one‑size‑fits‑all model.We work closely with our capital partners to design solutions that reflect their specific objectives,” she continued.

Breeze also noted that Hiscox sees a broad spectrum of appetite, from names at Lloyd’s of London, to institutional pension funds and hedge funds seeking more opportunistic access to the market.“Having a wide range of products and structures allows us to tailor our offerings to their needs and to provide the flexibility and transparency they’re looking for.This breadth of capability, supported by our underwriting expertise, fosters trust between us and our partners,” Breeze added.

Given the launch of Hiscox Capital Partners, Breeze explained whether Hiscox has any plans in place to change its approach to risk allocation.Breeze said: “In terms of risk allocation, there have been no changes in how Hiscox Re works.Our approach is still anchored in underwriting discipline, and Hiscox Capital Partners reinforces our capabilities and enables our partners to deploy their capital using a clear and unified framework.

“We will always look for ways to evolve our offering and flex through the cycle, and our new platform gives us the agility to do that, while staying aligned with Hiscox Re’s strategy.” Whilst the ILS market remains increasingly crowded, we asked Breeze to explain how Hiscox Capital Partners can help provide institutional investors with better transparency and ease of access towards the market.“At Hiscox, our strongest differentiator is our underwriting capability.We have been a disciplined underwriter going back 125 years and the depth of expertise, data and governance that distinguishes us underpins the approach we bring to our capital partners.

“Our capital partners benefit from all of the capabilities that our own book delivers, from analytics to decision-making frameworks, and research.These capabilities give them the confidence that by allocating and investing with us, their interests are being looked after and aligned with our own and held to the same standards of governance that we have over our own portfolio,” the executive said.Given the recent rise in casualty ILS, and other non-property classes, Breeze outlined whether Hiscox has plans to expand its offering into non-property classes for third-party investors in the near future.

“There’s a lot being said across the market about casualty sidecars and structures.We do write a broad range of specialty classes within Hiscox, and we have a real pedigree as an underwriting platform in specialty lines.“We’ve seen increasing interest from our capital partners in this space beyond property cat, and we’re certainly looking at what a stable, well-governed platform could look like for specialty classes, but the most important thing is discipline.

Underwriting discipline comes first and governs any new opportunities we might explore,” Breeze told Artemis.In addition, Given this, we asked Breeze to outline how Hiscox is currently seeing investor appetite within the market.“This new inflow represented interest from new investors, and equally, interest from, and expanding opportunity with existing partners.

“We have core flagship strategies on our ILS funds side and our sidecar, which ensure full alignment with Hiscox Re.But our platform also allows us to build truly bespoke portfolios – combining different parts of the market so that we can effectively manage the cycle.For example, blending catastrophe bonds with private ILS into a single fund is an area where we have seen increased interest in this year,” Breeze explained.

Concluding: “We maintain an active dialogue with our range of capital partners.We are increasingly seeing a clear gravitation towards established managers with strong governance.That robustness is a core foundation of our proposition.

“Trust is another central pillar of our partnerships and sits at the heart of how we work together.Our partners trust us to act responsibly, to be transparent and to manage the cycle with discipline and consistency.That long‑term, trust‑based approach supports how we align interests and navigate changing market conditions alongside them.” ..

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