AM Best Upgrades Issuer Credit Rating of Life Insurance Corporation (International) B.S.C. (c)
- May 28, 2026 09:17 AM (EDT)
//BestWire// - AM Best has upgraded the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) to “bb+” (Fair) from “bb” (Fair) and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B (Fair) of Life Insurance Corporation (International) B.S.C. (c) (LICI) (Bahrain). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.
The ratings reflect LICI’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and weak enterprise risk management (ERM). The ratings also reflect rating enhancement, in the form of lift, from its ultimate shareholder, the Republic of India.
The upgrade to the Long-Term ICR reflects stability in the company’s risk-adjusted capitalisation over the recent years, which was comfortably within the strongest level in 2025, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), and the increase in its capital and surplus. AM Best expects LICI’s BCAR to remain at the strongest level, driven by its conservative investment strategy and sustained internal capital generation.
LICI’s operating performance is adequate, albeit subject to some volatility, primarily due to movements in interest rates. The company has reported a three-year (2023-2025) average return-on-equity ratio of 8% under IFRS 17, with the performance primarily driven by investment results. The underwriting results in 2025 were negatively impacted by the establishment of a provision for future bonuses on participatory products, in line with the reporting requirements. AM Best expects LICI’s operating performance to remain adequate over the medium term.
LICI benefits from its niche market position, mainly targeting India’s expatriate community in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries by leveraging the Life Insurance Cooperation of India group’s strong brand and the portability of its policies back to India. Nonetheless, the company’s profile has been decreasing for the past several years following its strategic shift from traditional endowment products in favour of less capital-intensive unit-linked products. AM Best will continue to monitor management’s execution of its strategic growth plans.
LICI’s ERM framework is assessed as weak, which has been evident through poor capital management capabilities in the past and material restatements of the 2023 financial statements under IFRS 17. Historically, the company’s risk management has proven to be more reactive than proactive, with remedial actions having taken extended periods of time to be executed. AM Best acknowledges that the company has largely resolved its capital management and IFRS 17 reporting challenges and expects LICI to continue to formalise and enhance its risk management framework and capabilities.
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 (BCR), Best’s Performance Assessments (PA), Best’s Preliminary Credit Assessments (PCA) 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.