The hard market in reinsurance is likely to last through 2024, says Hiscox Re & ILS chief executive officer Kathleen Reardon.

Reardon, who was previously CEO of Hamilton Re and took up her current role in 2021, said Hiscox had added capacity as the market began to harden a year ago—a move that appears to have paid off.

In an insightful video interview with Bermuda:Re+ILS, she explains why when asked about the outlook for Hiscox Re + ILS: “I’m pleased to say that we are a leader. We entered this hard market on a strong footing.

“We had already addressed the loss trends. We made decisive changes in our portfolio with respect to attachment points and the balance of the portfolio. And for these reasons, Hiscox Group dedicated more capital to the reinsurance side, so we actually deployed more. Just having that conviction and confidence in us from the group was really meaningful.

“And because we had an early start, we were able to help our clients navigate through the uncertain times at the end of last year.”

“There’s a lot of opportunity to step up to and serve our longstanding clients.”

Asked about the future, Reardon predicts that there will be growth in specialty lines.

“When you’re getting the right rate for the right product, you can actually step back, look at your portfolio as a whole and think about new developments and new possibilities.

“First, we will maintain our appetite in property-catastrophe products. Second, during the COVID-19 pandemic, we stopped writing mortgage and surety and we’re now re-entering those classes and looking to grow in those areas.

“Finally, we have continued interest in growing our other specialty classes being marine energy, aviation, terror and cyber. There’s a lot of opportunity to step up to and serve our long-standing clients.”