Hiscox to sell travel and auto insurer DirectAsia
- Ignite Thailand Holdings has agreed to buy DirectAsia from Hiscox
- Hiscox said the decision to sell DirectAsia follows a recent strategic review.
Specialty insurer Hiscox has agreed to divest its Asian operations for an undisclosed amount.
Ignite Thailand Holdings, the parent company of online insurer Roojai, has agreed to buy DirectAsia, which offers travel and car insurance to customers in Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong.
DirectAsia became Hiscox’s first Asian business when it was bought nine years ago for $55m (£32.8m) from Whittington Group to expand the company’s direct-to-consumer offering.
Deal: Hiscox said the decision to sell DirectAsia follows a recent strategic review to focus on core markets “where it sees the greatest opportunities to maximize shareholder value”.
Last year, the division wrote $52.5 million in gross premiums, an increase of 12.2 percent at constant currency levels from the previous year, as easing of travel restrictions sparked a resurgence in sales. related to the engine.
Hiscox said the decision to sell DirectAsia follows a recent strategic review to focus on core markets “where it sees the greatest opportunities to maximize shareholder value.”
The group employs more than 3,000 people in 14 countries and sells coverage to individuals and companies for a variety of risks, including kidnapping and ransom, hacking and natural catastrophes.
The transaction is expected to be completed before the end of the year.
The announcement comes a month after the London-listed group revealed its pre-tax profits more than tenfold to $264.8 million in the first half of this year.
The profit growth was driven by higher underwriting profits as written premium volume received a boost due to rising property rates in its Hiscox Re and London market segments.
Profitability was further boosted by an increase in bond reinvestment yields that produced a positive investment result of $121.8 million, compared to a loss of $214.1 million a year earlier.
Aki Hussain, chief executive of Hiscox, said the company was “well positioned to deliver high-quality growth in revenue and earnings, as we continue to drive disciplined growth in positive market conditions in our most important segments.”
hiscox stock They were down 1.45 per cent, or 15p, to £10.21 early on Wednesday afternoon and remain significantly below pre-pandemic levels.
Due to the Covid-19 global health crisis, Hiscox was forced to hand over hundreds of millions of pounds to companies that had attempted to make claims over event cancellations and business interruption policies.
Its former CEO, Bronek Masojada, admitted that the company had suffered “some brand damage” related to disputes over payments to customers.
