Hiscox sustainability score: 35/100
Hiscox is a Bermuda-based specialty insurer founded in 1901, headquartered in Hamilton. The group operates as a Lloyd's of London market participant, underwriting commercial and personal insurance across property, casualty, marine, and professional lines globally, with a significant digital distribution footprint.
Head office BermudaStaff ~3,000Revenue ~£2.66BWebsite ↗
Hiscox discloses operational emissions with third-party verification but excludes financed/underwritten emissions—98% of its carbon footprint. Fossil fuel underwriting remains unresolved: the company has coal exclusions but no binding oil and gas phase-out, drawing criticism from Insure Our Future and Reclaim Finance. Operational targets lack SBTi validation.
Hiscox scores 35/100 (Below expectations) on SINK's independent climate assessment, scored from public data only. Scores are free. Companies can never pay for anything about their own score. Last verified August 2026.
That places Hiscox joint 540th of 934 companies scored, and joint 10th of 17 in Insurance.
What is Hiscox doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Transparency & Accountability (7/10, 6/10). Weakest on Nature & Biodiversity Impact and Carbon Footprint: Supply Chain (3/10, 4/10).
Where Hiscox lost points
For each question that lost points, the evidence our public rubric looks for that we didn't find.
- Emissions from its own operations7/10Its own emissions aren't independently verified or tracked over several years.
- Emissions from its supply chain4/10Most of its supply-chain (Scope 3) emissions aren't measured.
- Whether its emissions are falling5/10No evidence of a year-on-year fall in its total emissions.
- How clean its energy is5/10Less than half its energy shown to be renewable, or no transition plan.
- Its effect on nature3/10No assessment of its effect on nature, and no basic environmental policy.
- How it uses materials and handles waste4/10No measurable waste or recycling targets reported publicly.
- Its effect on water5/10No measured water footprint with reduction targets.
- Its climate targets4/10Its targets aren't science-based or committed to the Science Based Targets initiative.
- How openly it reports6/10No annual impact report, or no pay linked to climate targets.
- Its record on controversies4/10Points deducted for controversies or its business model. The finding is under question 10.
A score changes when the evidence does. We use new published evidence at the next rescore. Anyone can send us new evidence, free. How to send it.
How is Hiscox's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleHas Hiscox's score changed?
Hiscox's score has moved from 47 to 35 across 2 recorded reviews, down 12 points.
- 47 → 35-1211 October 2026
v2.5.7 financed-emissions rule applied retroactively (record last scored before the rule): scale 0.95 -> 0.7, score 47 -> 35. No question marks changed.
- Scored 472 August 2026
Initial public score 47 (publish-draft)
What evidence is Hiscox's score based on?
9 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
33% of them were published by Hiscox itself; the rest come from independent sources.
“Our Scope 1-3 emissions (excluding investments) are independently verified to a reasonable assurance level.”
“In 2024, the total operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of Hiscox amounted to 1,910 metric tons of CO2 equivalent.”
“In 2024 we added wording into our leases that supports our requirements to decarbonise our offices, this is termed as 'Green Leasing'.”
“The previous year, 2023, saw total emissions of approximately 25,914,000 kg CO2e, indicating a reduction in emissions year-on-year.”
“in that time, we have helped improve its performance from a C to a B score in 2022.”
“We participate in a number of key ESG indices including CDP, FTSE4Good and the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.”
“Hiscox Syndicates, as they have a commitment to stop underwriting risks related to new coal mines or new coal plants, but no commitment to stop underwriting risks related to new oil”
“Hiscox's ESG 3033 sub-syndicate claims that it provides 'insurance capacity exclusively awarded to businesses delivering exceptional ESG performance'”
“AIG, Tokio Marine and big Lloyd's insurers like Hiscox now need to move next.”
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How does Hiscox compare with other insurance companies?
Where Hiscox sits among insurance peers.
Among the 17 major insurance brands we've scored, Hiscox is tied =10th of 17, with 1 other.
Who scores higher in Insurance?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Hiscox.
Admiral discloses mandatory carbon metrics but hasn't cut absolute emissions—Scope 1&2 rose 10% in 2025.
See the breakdown →Humana's Scope 1 and 2 emissions, reported with third-party assurance, fell from 104,118 tCO2e in 2022 to 95,418 in 2024 and rose slightly to 96,532 in 2025.
See the breakdown →Zurich's operational emissions are about 68% below 2019 but were flat in 2025, and the financed emissions of its corporate holdings rose slightly in the year.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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