By Ryan Hewlett

June 30 - (The Insurer) - Hiscox has expanded its European retail footprint with a deal to acquire Italy-based digital insurer Lokky.

The Milan-headquartered insurtech provides commercial and professional liability coverage for the micro and small business sector in Italy. Terms of the acquisition are not known.

Founded by Paolo Tanfoglio and Sauro Mostarda, Lokky uses a proprietary algorithm-driven digital platform to underwrite policies for more than 400 business types, from cyber and liability to property and legal protection.

The insurtech will serve as a platform from which London-listed Hiscox can build out in Italy's domestic market and is expected to be fully integrated into Hiscox Europe, which is led by Robert Dietrich.

The carrier now operates in 10 countries across the continent which collectively represent close to 70% of European GDP.

Hiscox Europe already operates direct digital and broker channels in core markets including France, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Belgium and the Netherlands and has built partnerships in Iberia through bancassurance and in Germany and France via a pan‑European MGA platform.

Speaking at the carrier’s annual capital markets day on May 22, Dietrich signalled Hiscox's intent to expand in Italy, telling investors that the country represented a “good strategic fit” for Hiscox Europe. Italy has almost twice the number of micro enterprises compared to Germany, he said.

“We have had our eye on Italy for a while,” he said. “This large market is opening up with an increasing demand for digitisation and product innovation from our strategic broker partners. We can partner with them on market-leading digital solutions, and offer products like cyber and emerging PI, where we have deep expertise.”

In 2024, Hiscox Europe wrote around $656 million in gross premiums, up 7.6% on a constant‑currency basis. This growth continued into the first quarter of 2025 with top-line growth of 8.8% to $273.5 million for the period.