Q&A: Hiscox’s Paul Cooper on CFO’s role in driving expansion

Growth isn’t just about moving fast—it’s about moving smart. In a business where market cycles shift, risks evolve, and capital allocation can mean the difference between success and stagnation, strategic expansion requires discipline.

The CFO sat down with Hiscox’s financial chief, Paul Cooper, to discuss how the company balances ambition with financial rigor. From navigating mature and high-growth markets to leveraging AI in underwriting, Cooper explains how Hiscox makes investment decisions that aren’t just about scaling up but scaling wisely.

Because in finance, as in business, knowing when to push forward—and when to hold back—makes all the difference.

Read the full interview below.

What are the key components of Hiscox’s growth strategy, and how does the financial function enable these goals? 

Hiscox has a diversified business model, with three distinct parts of the Group: our London Market business, where we insure global, complex risks through the Lloyd’s insurance market; Re & ILS, where we write reinsurance business on our own balance sheet and on behalf of third party capital; and our Retail business which is a direct-to-consumer insurance offering, predominantly to small and micro businesses.

Our London Market and Re & ILS businesses are cyclical businesses where returns vary across the insurance pricing cycle, while growth in Retail delivers more stable profits, and here we have a significant structural growth opportunity because in each of our chosen markets, our market share remains modest.  

We’re strict about our capital allocation and evaluate the risks and opportunities within each segment. This means that we can grow the business through the cycle, but also that we can seize opportunities as they present themselves.

For example, we recently launched a new London Market Financial Institutions offering because we see a significant opportunity in this area at this point in the cycle, and conversely, we’ve allocated capital away from Cyber where rates have been falling.  

How does Hiscox balance growth in mature markets, like the UK and Europe, with its expansion in high-potential areas like the US? 

We have a global growth strategy and see strong opportunities to expand our Retail market share in each of our chosen markets.

Europe remains a very compelling proposition, and that business has seen double-digit growth in each of the last five years. The US also holds significant promise, given the size and immaturity of the digital market, and in the UK, we continue to build on our deep foundations through investments in our brand and new distribution partnerships that enable us to reach more customers in a mature market.

We have a deep understanding of our customers, and because SME behavior is broadly consistent, we can leverage our technical expertise and deploy it in similarly attractive markets that have stable and favorable regulatory and legal regimes.  

In a competitive insurance market, what challenges do you face in driving profitable growth, and how do you overcome them? 

Our role is to understand where we are in the underwriting cycle from a pricing perspective. We assess pricing rates and profitability and use that knowledge to allocate capital and expand or preserve margin. When the cycle is more favorable, we decide where we can profitably take on more risk that aligns with our underwriting appetite.

From an investment perspective, we analyze our investment priorities and decide which initiatives we take forward, examining each business case and ensuring these are appropriately prioritized and executed.   

How does Hiscox approach investment decisions to support innovation and scalability? 

Hiscox has a strong track record of innovation, and we’re increasingly focused on the critical role technology will play in our future growth and scalability. In 2023, we announced our collaboration with Google Cloud to deploy Generative AI to enhance our underwriting capabilities in the London Market.

These investment decisions are backed by our enterprise portfolio management framework, which we have evolved and matured since I joined the business.

This framework evaluates the affordability of investment in both the short and longer term, and we use it to help prioritise spending across growth opportunities. And as a regulated financial services company, we also balance investing for growth with meeting the costs of regulatory compliance. 

What role does technology and data analytics play in Hiscox’s growth strategy, and how do you, as CFO, evaluate its ROI? 

Insurance, by its very nature, is a data-driven business and at Hiscox data plays a crucial part in our underwriting performance. Using data effectively to maintain a competitive advantage is going to be increasingly important, alongside the accompanying financial rigour to ensure the technology return profile works for the business.

If you look at our Retail business, the average premium for our digital small business insurance is around £/$/€1,000, and with 98% of that business digitally distributed, the cost element of that technology is important.

So yes, we’re continually looking at how technology can drive productivity, and if I take our UK Retail business last year, Generative AI drove an increase in productivity by c.40%, which shows the material gains to be made.  

How do you foster an entrepreneurial mindset within the financial team to support growth initiatives? 

Hiscox has long had an entrepreneurial spirit and a distinct culture. We have a relatively flat structure and an open and inclusive team environment where we share ideas and come together to foster innovation.

Personally, I believe that a high-performing finance function operates around four key principles; the four c’s as I call them. That’s commerciality, so driving commerciality across the business; cost management, so making the business as cost efficient as possible; captaincy, and by that, I mean financial leadership; and maintaining the controls that underpin our operations.

When combined, you get a business functioning extremely well and we’ve seen that for ourselves – for instance we’ve reduced our reporting timeframe by two weeks, using automation around reconciliations and financial report production, which is significant. 

What emerging trends or risks do you see shaping Hiscox’s growth in the next 5-10 years, and how are you preparing the organization for them? 

From my perspective, there are three key factors – geopolitical trends, climate trends, and technological change. These aren’t necessarily new; they’re factors we’ve seen and navigated before, but in different ways. 

Hiscox has been adept at navigating these changes to develop products that customers will benefit from. Technology is becoming increasingly impactful, and our role is to realise its benefits.

For example, AI is already having a positive impact on our underwriting and claims processes and supporting with fraud evaluation. But the environment we operate in is constantly evolving, which is why when we recruit, we look for people with an appetite for change or change capabilities, as that’s important not only for Hiscox but also as it relates to the customer base we serve.   

How does Hiscox ensure its growth strategy remains adaptable in an industry known for economic and regulatory volatility? 

Navigating volatility in all its forms is in our DNA, and we have a proven track record of solid performance even amid periods of uncertainty, whether that’s the rapid inflation rates we saw in 2021, or the ongoing impact of geopolitical shifts.

We’re focused on becoming even more forward and outward-looking to continue to predict and respond to our customers’ needs in a tailored way – for example, as part of our risk management structures we have a working group – the grey swan group – which examines the emerging risks with potential to impact either our business or our customers, or both.

So, we’re focused on how we turn those risks into growth opportunities, for example through bridging protection gaps and underwriting the unique risks our customers face.  

In your view, how can the financial function at Hiscox continue to add value as the company evolves? 

Well, automation is going to be critical – especially finding ways to better use data for insight in an increasingly cost-effective way. We’ve invested in technology for a sustained period and that means we can attract really strong partners like Google Cloud, and the benefits of those investments is starting to earn through. 

Secondly, we support Hiscox’s growth and performance through cost management and capital allocation. We have deep relationships across the business and that’s critical when having frank and open discussions about where to increase our exposure or change our underwriting approach. Underwriting needs to be complemented by a solid financial performance and we help translate what the data and numbers are telling us into action to drive growth.  

And finally, it’s about ensuring that we have, and continue to attract, people with the right competencies and capabilities. Hiscox has a compelling employee proposition – we offer a real opportunity to have a variety of experiences from examining wholesale reinsurance markets to evaluating the performance our Retail segment.

We are non-hierarchical, and it is an empowering place to work, where people are encouraged to get on and help build the business.