Best’s News & Research Service - March 03, 2026 12:59 PM (EST)
AM Best Places the Credit Ratings of Beazley plc Subsidiaries Under Review With Positive Implications and Comments on Beazley’s Lloyd’s Syndicates Ratings
- March 03, 2026 12:59 PM (EST)
//BestWire// - AM Best has placed under review with positive implications the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) of “a+” (Excellent) of Beazley Insurance Designated Activity Company (BIDAC) (Ireland), Beazley Insurance Company, Inc. (BICI) (Farmington, CT), Beazley America Insurance Company, Inc. (Beazley America) (Farmington, CT), Beazley Excess and Surplus Insurance, Inc. (BESI) (Farmington, CT) and Beazley Bermuda Insurance Limited (Bermuda).
The Credit Ratings (ratings) have been placed under review following the announcement on 2 March 2026 that Zurich Insurance Group Ltd (Zurich) has made a binding offer to acquire 100% of Beazley plc's (Beazley) shares for approximately GBP 8 billion (USD 11 billion). Zurich's statement confirms that Beazley's Board of Directors are recommending its shareholders accept the offer. The offer must be voted on by Beazley's shareholders and, if approved, the acquisition would be subject to regulatory approval and due diligence.
The under review with positive implication status reflects the potential financial and operational benefits that Beazley and its subsidiaries may derive from being a part of a significantly larger insurance organisation, which is of greater financial strength. The ratings will remain under review pending completion of the transaction and a detailed review by AM Best of Beazley's future business plans.
Concurrently, AM Best comments that the ratings of Lloyd’s Syndicate 2623, Lloyd’s Syndicate 623, Lloyd’s Syndicate 3623, and Lloyd’s Syndicate 3622 (Beazley’s Lloyd’s Syndicates) (United Kingdom) are being closely monitored. The Syndicates currently have a Long-Term FSR of A+ (Superior) and Long-Term ICRs of “aa-” (Superior), which reflect the financial strength of the Lloyd’s market, which underpins the security of all Syndicates. The ratings will be further reviewed if and when Zurich’s binding offer is accepted.
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.