Best’s News & Research Service - July 10, 2024 11:48 AM (EDT)
AM Best Upgrades Issuer Credit Rating of Aseguradora General, S.A.
- July 10, 2024 11:48 AM (EDT)
//BestWire// - AM Best has upgraded 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 Aseguradora General, S.A. (AGen) (Guatemala). In addition, AM Best has revised the Long-Term ICR to stable from positive. The outlook of the FSR is stable.
The Credit Ratings (ratings) reflect AGen’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strongest, as well as its marginal operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM).
The upgrade of the Long-Term ICR emanates from the removal of the drag on AGen’s ratings, as financial leverage at the holding company has diminished substantially with sufficient interest expense coverage.
AGen was established in 1967 and is the seventh-largest insurer operating in Guatemala. As of year-end 2023, the company reported USD 81 million in direct premium, with a market share of 6.5%. The company underwrites a mixed portfolio of life and non-life business, with its retained premium distributed among major medical expenses (59%), auto (15%), life (16%) and the rest, a mix of property/casualty (P/C). The company’s business profile is assessed at neutral, supported by its importance within its domestic market, but limited by its geographic and product concentration.
The company’s majority shareholder is a pure holding company privately held by investors that bought a 51% stake of the company in May 2017 from Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A.
AM Best has a stable outlook on Guatemala, which reflects the economic resiliency of the country and its
ability to provide stable ground for future growth of insurance companies.
AM Best considers AGen’s balance sheet strength to be at the strongest level. The company’s well-structured reinsurance program supports its capital base by properly limiting its exposure to catastrophe events. In previous rating assessments, the holding’s debt obligations placed negative pressure on AGen’s ratings by limiting its financial flexibility due to substantial dividend payments; however, debt has shifted to more manageable levels with good interest coverage supporting the upgrade of the Long-Term ICR. AM Best considers AGen’s ERM practices to be appropriate as its management capabilities are sufficient to meet its risk appetite.
AM Best views the company’s operating performance as marginal, The result posted for 2023 reflects the company’s improved underwriting in particular lines, while challenges still persist in its competitive insurance segments as well as in expense management. AM Best also recognizes the positive development of AGen’s property/casualty lines of business; however, this has not been sufficient to generate a favorable trend in its underwriting results to support a higher operating performance assessment level. Net income has remained positive for the past five years; however, 2023 results are lower than those of 2022.
Positive rating actions could take place if the operating performance of the company trends positively due to underwriting quality improvements. Negative rating actions could take place if the company’s business profile limits its operating performance in terms of quality of underwriting and bottom-line results.
The methodology used in determining these ratings is Best’s Credit Rating Methodology (Version Jan. 18, 2024), 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:
Evaluating Country Risk (Version June 6, 2024)
· Understanding Global BCAR (Version March 7, 2024)
· Available Capital and Insurance Holding Company Analysis (Version Jan. 18, 2024)
· Scoring and Assessing Innovation (Version Feb. 27, 2023)
· Catastrophe Analysis in AM Best Ratings (Version Feb. 8, 2024)
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, relevant sources of information and the frequency for updating ratings, please refer to Guide to Best’s Credit Ratings.
· Previous Rating Date: May 24, 2023.
· Initial Rating Date: March 4, 2020.
· Date Range of Financial Data Used: Dec. 31, 2017 – April 30, 2024.
Ratings are communicated to rated entities prior to publication. Unless stated otherwise, the ratings were not amended subsequent to that communication.
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