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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OLDWICK - OCTOBER 28, 2021 11:05 AM (EDT)
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a” (Excellent) of Brit Reinsurance (Bermuda) Limited (Brit Re) (Bermuda). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.
The ratings reflect Brit Re’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM). The ratings also benefit from the implicit and explicit support of its intermediate parent, Brit Limited (Brit), and its ultimate parent, Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (Fairfax) [TSX: FFH].
Brit Re, first incorporated in Gibraltar in 2007 and re-domiciled to Bermuda in November 2017, acts primarily as an internal reinsurer for its affiliates, Syndicate 2987 and Brit Underwriting Limited. Recently, Brit Re began writing casualty treaty reinsurance, as well as fronting for its affiliate’s insurance-linked securities platform, Sussex Capital. The company continues to derive most of its premium from a quota share contract with Syndicate 2987.
Brit Re’s very strong balance sheet strength is supported by historically profitable underwriting results and manageable premium growth. Liquidity measures are sound and supported by short-term, liquid holdings, predominantly high quality fixed income securities and cash.
While the company’s risk-adjusted capitalization is maintained consistently at the strongest level, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), the overall balance sheet assessment of very strong also considers Brit Re’s material catastrophe exposure and the limited fungibility of its invested assets. A significant portion of Brit Re’s assets is pledged as collateral for a stop-loss contract written to provide Funds at Lloyd’s (FAL) for Brit. The very strong balance sheet assessment also reflects that capital growth is constrained by occasionally sizable dividend payments made to Brit Re’s publicly traded ultimate parent, Fairfax.
AM Best assesses Brit Re’s operating performance as adequate, largely based on the performance of its all-lines quota share on business written by Brit’s Syndicate 2987, of which Brit Re assumes a 20% share of net premiums written. The syndicate has obtained successive rate improvements over the past few years; however, major catastrophe losses and competition on its commercial (re)insurance have dampened recent results. The variability of the results of the syndicate business has been offset by the profitability of the FAL stop-loss contract. Underwriting performance also benefits from Brit Re’s very low expense structure. Total investment returns have been variable over the past five years, with unrealized gains and losses impacting the company’s longer-term, value-oriented equity portfolio. In 2020, underwriting results were impacted negatively by pandemic losses and natural catastrophe events, although the company still generated a modest net profit for the year.
AM Best assesses Brit Re’s business profile as limited given the company’s concentrated business production, and the company’s ERM practices as appropriate due to the governance structure in place.
The company benefits from being part of Fairfax, which maintains favorable financial flexibility, a strong liquidity position and a track record of supporting its (re)insurance subsidiaries. Therefore, rating enhancement is provided based on the implicit and explicit support Brit Re receives from its parent, in the form of capital support, business distribution channels and overall operational integration.
This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best’s website. For all 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. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best’s Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best’s Credit Ratings, Best’s Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best’s Ratings & Assessments.
AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City.