hiscox ltd said wednesday that gross premiums written increased in 2022 boosted by an attractive rate environment despite foreignexchange headwinds from a strengthening us dollar and that chairman robert childs has decided to retire and step down this year the specialist insurer said gross premiums written for last year rose to 442 billion from 427 billion the year before assets under management stood at 19 billion at dec 31 the combined ratiothe proportion of revenue eaten up by costsstood at 906 from 932 a year earlier a ratio below 100 indicates underwriting profitability underwriting profit was 2695 million compared with 2156 million in 2021 this marks the highest outturn for the metric since 2015 it said the board declared a final dividend of 240 cents bringing the total ordinary dividend a share for the year of 360 cents compared with 345 cents a year before the outlook for 2023 is very positive we are facing favorable market conditions in all of our key markets our talented teams supported by a strong balance sheet and financial flexibility are set to make the most of the significant opportunities ahead chief executive aki hussain said for 2023 mr hussain said the retail business is primed to accelerate growth toward the middle of the 515 range and reinsurance market conditions are the best seen in more than a decade the investment result which has been a headwind over the last 12 months is expected to become a tailwind in 2023 as bond reinvestment yields reached 52 at the end of february mr hussain said hiscox said it has begun a process to identify and appoint a successor to mr childs hiscox has a strong management team and is wellpositioned to grow and deliver for customers around the world mr childs said shares in hiscox at 0804 gmt were up 400 pence or 04 at 107700 pence