Best’s News & Research Service - February 08, 2023 02:40 PM (EST)
AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Compañía Internacional de Seguros, S.A.
- February 08, 2023 02:40 PM (EST)
Mexico City //BestWire// - AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a” (Excellent) of Compañía Internacional de Seguros, S.A. (CIS) (Panama City, Panama). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.
The ratings reflect CIS’ balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses at the strongest level, as well as its strong operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.
CIS’ balance sheet strength is underpinned by its risk-adjusted capitalization at the strongest level, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), historically positive technical and bottom-line results, its leading position in Panama’s insurance market, a strong reinsurance program, a seasoned management team, solid risk-management practices and increased geographic diversification through Aseguradora del Istmo (ADISA) S.A. in Costa Rica. Partially offsetting these positive rating factors are the challenges CIS faces operating in a relatively limited and increasingly competitive insurance market.
CIS initiated operations in 1910 as a multiline insurer and ranks among the top insurance companies in Panama in terms of premium market share. The company’s largest business lines include health, automobile, miscellaneous, group and individual life insurance. CIS operates through a network of brokers and office branches in several cities throughout Panama.
Historically, CIS has increased its capital base at a 7.6% compound annual growth rate as a result of positive bottom-line results, driven by a consistent inflow of underwriting and investment income, which reflects the management team’s market knowledge and experience. AM Best expects the company’s risk-adjusted capitalization to remain stable.
In 2022, CIS’ solid operating performance was reflected by a combined ratio of 87.8% and a return on earned premiums of 5.6%. These results were supported by continued positive performance in its surety, auto and health businesses, which were the main contributors to the company’s net income during the period. The company’s gross written premiums grew by 15.4% on a year-over-year basis, driven by the re-opening of important economic sectors previously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as business opportunities in the surety segment, the lift provided by bank assurance for the personal accidents segment and a large new group life account.
The company leverages its health segment performance through Blue Cross Blue Shield, a health care provider network in the United States.
Financial income continues to support CIS’ results; however, the company is not dependent on this revenue to achieve positive bottom-line results. Although CIS maintains a sound risk profile and its overall performance is strong, CIS presented reduced profitability in 2022, as measured by return on equity, with respect to historical trends due to the decline in U.S. equity markets, which generated mark-to-market losses.
Despite the many positive characteristics of CIS, the ratings are limited by the competitive environment present in its domestic market, as well as AM Best’s perception of country risk in Panama, which has an AM Best country risk tier ranking of CRT-4, the second-highest level in this scale.
AM Best considers CIS to be well-positioned at its current rating levels, and positive rating actions are not expected in the near term. Factors that might lead to negative rating actions include protracted adverse underwriting and overall operating performance, changes in strategic alliances, a significant deterioration in CIS’ risk-adjusted capitalization or a downgrade of Panama’s country risk tier rating.
The methodology used in determining these ratings is Best’s Credit Rating Methodology (Version Nov. 13, 2020), 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 Oct. 13, 2017)
• Understanding Global BCAR (Version June 30, 2022)
• Catastrophe Analysis in A.M. Best Ratings (Version Oct. 13, 2017)
• Available Capital & Holding Company Analysis (Version Oct. 13, 2017)
• Scoring and Assessing Innovation (Version March 5, 2020)
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, please refer to Guide to Best’s Credit Ratings.
• Previous Rating Date: Feb. 16, 2022
• Date Range of Financial Data Used: June 30, 2018-June 30, 2022
This press release relates to rating(s) that have been published on AM Best’s website. For additional 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.
AM Best does not validate or certify the information provided by the client in order to issue a credit rating.
While the information obtained from the material source(s) is believed to be reliable, its accuracy is not guaranteed. AM Best does not audit the company’s financial records or statements, or otherwise independently verify the accuracy and reliability of the information; therefore, AM Best cannot attest as to the accuracy of the information provided.
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