The descriptor “Lloyd’s of London insurer” is often banded about loosely and is not a particularly useful cover-all (Miles Costello writes). There are brokers that provide cover for customers using the world’s oldest insurance market; there are underwriters of risks, acting alone and as part of syndicates; and there are highly differentiated specialists, experts in, say, catastrophe risk, piracy and ships or airlines.
Then there’s Hiscox. The group traces its history back to an underwriter, AE Roberts, who operated his marine cover syndicate on the Lloyd’s market in 1901. Today, like many of its peers headquartered in Bermuda, Hiscox is probably the most diverse of the listed Lloyd’s insurers, with more than 2,700 staff in 14 countries, 32 offices and a market value above £4.2