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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEXICO CITY - JANUARY 31, 2020 01:46 PM (EST)
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a” of Compañía Internacional de Seguros, S.A. (CIS) (Panama City, Panama). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.
The ratings reflect CIS’ balance sheet strength, which AM Best categorizes as strongest, as well as its strong operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.
CIS’ overall strength is underpinned by its risk-adjusted capitalization being at the strongest level, historically positive technical and bottom-line results, its leading position in Panama’s insurance market, a strong reinsurance program, a seasoned management team, solid risk-management practices and increased geographic diversification through Aseguradora del Istmo (ADISA) S.A. in Costa Rica. Partially offsetting these positive rating factors are the challenges CIS faces operating in a relatively limited and increasingly competitive insurance market.
CIS initiated operations in 1910 as a multiline insurer and ranks among the top companies in Panama in terms of premium market share. The company’s largest business lines include health, automobile, miscellaneous, group and individual life insurance. CIS operates through a network of brokers and office branches in several cities throughout Panama.
CIS’ risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), has been maintained at the strongest level and is supportive of the ratings. Historically, the company has increased capital at an 8.0% compound annual growth rate as a result of positive bottom-line results, driven by a consistent inflow of underwriting and investment income, which reflects the management team’s market knowledge and experience. AM Best expects the company’s capitalization to remain stable.
In 2019, CIS operating performance was characterized by a combined ratio of 91.6% and a return on earned premiums of 20.6%. These results were supported by continued strong performance in its auto, health and group life businesses, which constitute 80% of net earned premium. The company leverages its health segment performance through Blue Cross Blue Shield, a health care provider network in the United States. In addition, CIS’ fire business has improved due to a strategic focus on specific niches, in conjunction with lower reinsurance costs, despite strong competition in this business line that historically has generated losses. Financial income continues to support CIS’ results while it maintains a sound risk profile; however, the company is not dependent on this revenue to achieve positive bottom-line results. Although the company’s overall performance is strong, it constantly reviews its underwriting guidelines to improve the performance of business segments that are deviating from targets.
Despite the many positive characteristics of CIS, the ratings are limited by the competitive environment present in its domestic market, as well as AM Best’s perception of the country risk in Panama, which has an AM Best country risk tier ranking of CRT-4, the second highest level in this scale.
Positive factors that might improve the rating level or outlook include improvements in Panama’s risk profile while maintaining a stable trend in CIS’ profitability and supportive risk-adjusted capitalization. Factors that might lead to negative rating actions include protracted adverse underwriting and overall performance, a change in the Blue Cross Blue Shield alliance, a significant deterioration in its risk-adjusted capitalization or a downgrade of Panama’s country risk tier rating.
The methodology used in determining these ratings is Best’s Credit Rating Methodology, which provides a comprehensive explanation of AM Best’s rating process and contains the different rating criteria employed in the rating process. Best’s Credit Rating Methodology can be found at www.ambest.com/ratings/methodology .
Key insurance criteria reports utilized:
View a general description of the policies and procedures used to determine credit ratings. For information on the meaning of ratings, structure, voting and the committee process for determining the ratings and monitoring activities, please refer to Guide to Best’s Credit Ratings.
This press release relates to rating(s) that have been published on AM Best’s website. For additional rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best’s Recent Rating Activity web page.
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