Amlin and Hiscox profits suffer after natural disasters
THE cost of the Chilean earthquake and hurricane Xynthia sent first-half profits tumbling at insurance groups Amlin and Hiscox.
Hiscox yesterday said “Mother Nature has shown how capricious she can be” as it reported a 31 per cent drop in pre-tax profits to £97.2million for the six months to June.
Amlin profits fell 39 per cent to £107.6million. Hiscox shares rose 3¼p to 347p, while Amlin’s fell 13¾p to 408¼p.
Hiscox faces £100million in claims from the two disasters, and took a hit of less than £10million from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Amlin said it faced a loss of £108million from the quake, but claims relating to Xynthia were £1.3million.
However, claims from hail storms in Australia had cost it another £12million.