Hiscox insurance rates fall on 'benign' period for losses

Lloyd's insurer Hiscox today said reinsurance rates had on average dropped between five per cent and seven per cent because the industry did not bare many catastrophes last year.

The Bermuda-based company added that it made a 7.2 per cent return on investments last year because of the rise in the stock market, compared with a loss of 1.3 per cent in 2008.

High returns and few claims last year have left insurers with cash to cut prices to attract new business.

About a third of Hiscox's premium income comes from reinsurance.

It also said that since its last update in November it was still enjoying "a particularly benign period for catastrophe losses", but that the British business had seen a small spike in claims from the recent cold snap.