AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of IRB-Brasil Resseguros S.A.
- September 02, 2026 12:40 PM (EDT)
//BestWire// - AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” (Excellent) of IRB-Brasil Resseguros S.A. (IRB) (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). Concurrently, AM Best has affirmed the Brazil National Scale Rating (NSR) of “aaa.BR” (Exceptional). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.
The ratings reflect IRB’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses at the strongest level, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM).
The stable outlooks are underpinned by AM Best’s expectation that IRB’s balance sheet strength will remain at the strongest levels, supported by a sustained improving trend of its operating performance and benefiting from the initiatives implemented by the management.
IRB’s surplus has grown over the last five to seven years and its strongest level of risk-adjusted-capitalization, as measured by Best’s Credit Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), are in the top category for a company at its rating level. The company’s balance sheet also benefits from protection via a retrocession program with highly rated reinsurers that limits IRB’s net exposures to manageable levels.
AM Best assesses IRB’s operating performance as adequate due to the changes in its results. During 2025 and through second-quarter 2026, the company improved its operating performance by refining its portfolio, which has aided IRB in its recovery from its performance in prior years. This was supported by a change in the company’s culture resulting in a positive trend in its bottom-line results.
IRB is the dominant reinsurance market participant in Brazil. As of December 2025, IRB’s market share of Brazil’s domestic reinsurance market was approximately 29%. IRB continues to look to grow its presence and regional profile through international expansion.
AM Best acknowledges that IRB has taken numerous steps to reinforce its ERM and governance structures, and these improvements have helped stabilize its operations. AM Best recognizes that the changes continued to show a trend of improvement in the company’s underwriting performance.
A factor that could lead to negative rating action is negative macroeconomic conditions, which could contribute further to a deterioration in IRB's operating performance and become an obstacle in IRB’s ability to raise capital if needed. While positive rating actions are not expected in the short term, a positive rating action could take place if the company continues to show improvements in its operating performance by implementing its transformation strategy.
The methodology used in determining these ratings is Best’s Credit Rating Methodology (Version Aug. 29, 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 (June 6, 2024)
- Understanding Global BCAR (July 16, 2026)
- Catastrophe Analysis in AM Best Ratings (Feb. 27, 2026)
- Available Capital and Insurance Holding Company Analysis (Sept. 18, 2025)
- Scoring and Assessing Innovation (Feb. 20, 2025)
- Best’s National Scale Ratings (July 31, 2025)
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: Sept. 3, 2025
- Initial Rating Date: Dec. 13, 2011
- Date Range of Financial Data Used: Dec. 31, 2020-June 31, 2026
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