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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OLDWICK - MAY 13, 2022 02:30 PM (EDT)
AM Best has downgraded the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) to “bbb” (Good) from “bbb+” (Good) and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of B++ (Good) of Republic Insurance Company (Cayman) Limited (Republic Insurance) (Cayman Islands). The outlook of the Long-Term ICR has been revised to stable from negative while the outlook of the FSR is stable.
The Credit Ratings (ratings) reflect Republic Insurance’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.
The balance sheet strength assessment reflects Republic Insurance’s risk-adjusted capitalization at the strongest level, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR). However, due to the majority of business being conducted within Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados, the Country Risk Tier 4 and balance sheet strength of the operating company are assessed as very strong. Driving the downgrade of the Long-Term ICR is the overall macroeconomic landscape of Trinidad and Tobago, as well as Barbados, and the limited recovery of lending activity at the banking subsidiaries of Republic Financial Holdings Limited. Top line premiums at Republic Insurance are correlated directly to the lending operations of the banking subsidiaries, and overall economic activity has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels within either country. Furthermore, AM Best notes that the uncertainty of global gas, oil and energy prices is highly impactful to the outlook of Republic Insurance’s domestic markets.
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 Performance Assessments, 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.