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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEXICO CITY - JUNE 25, 2026 05:17 PM (EDT)
AM Best has upgraded the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) to “aa” (Superior) from “aa-” (Superior), affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A+ (Superior), and affirmed the Mexico National Scale Rating (NSR) of “aaa.MX” (Exceptional) of Berkley International Compañía de Garantías Mexico S.A. de C.V. (BICGM) (Mexico City, Mexico). The outlook of the Long-Term ICR has been revised to stable from positive, while the outlooks of the FSR and NSR are stable.
BICGM is a member of W. R. Berkley Insurance Group (Berkley Group), which on a consolidated basis, has a balance sheet strength that AM Best assesses at the strongest level, as well as strong operating performance, a favorable business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM).
The Long-Term ICR upgrade reflects Berkley Group’s improved balance sheet strength fundamentals, driven by a robust investment portfolio that is driving consistently strong returns, consistent organic surplus growth over the most recent 10-year period and the group’s strong debt leverage.
The stable outlooks reflect AM Best’s expectation that the group will maintain its balance sheet strength assessment in the strongest range over the intermediate term with strong operating results contributing to surplus growth.
The Credit Ratings (ratings) reflect BICGM’s integration with its parent company, W. R. Berkley Corporation (W. R. Berkley), in terms of corporate goals, underwriting, ERM and capital commitments, as well as substantial reinsurance support from its group through Berkley Insurance Company (BIC).
BICGM was formed in November 2016 and is one of W. R. Berkley’s two Mexico subsidiaries. The company received regulatory approval to underwrite surety business in June 2017 and issued its first policy that same month. In 2023, BICGM also requested regulatory approval to underwrite guarantee insurance. With this new line of business, management decided to start 2024 under BICGM, which offers a mix of administrative products in the surety segment, and a lesser portion of credit and judicial products. The company expects to start offering guarantee insurance during 2026. BICGM is backed by a comprehensive reinsurance contract with BIC.
BICGM’s strongest level of risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), is derived from its sound capital position, strengthened further by the comprehensive reinsurance contract with BIC and a growing capital base with 29% five-year compound annual growth rate due to reinvestment of earnings. Furthermore, AM Best recognizes W. R. Berkley’s commitment to its subsidiaries in providing additional capital fungibility to the Mexico operation.
BICGM has been able to grow its business volume during the past nine years. BICGM presented significant premium growth in 2023, mainly driven by increased government construction activities, and the recent nearshoring phenomenon in the north of Mexico. Premium growth was lower in 2024 and reported a minor reduction in generated premiums in 2025, mainly caused by two consecutive years of slowdown of Mexico’s economy and a contraction of the construction sector. The company takes advantage of the reinsurance support received from the Berkley Group, which has allowed BICGM to achieve premium sufficiency, and further strengthened its profitability through investment income.
Negative rating actions could occur to BICGM if the balance sheet strength of the ultimate parent materially deteriorates, including a decline in risk-adjusted capitalization, enough to warrant a less favorable balance sheet assessment.
While considered unlikely, positive rating actions could be taken if the ultimate parent’s operating performance metrics continue to show a favorable trend and align more closely with a very strong operating performance assessment. BICGM’s ratings would mirror those actions.
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:
· The Treatment of Terrorism Risk in the Rating Evaluation (Version May 22, 2025)
· Evaluating Country Risk (Version June 6, 2024)
· Understanding Global BCAR (Version Sept. 18, 2025)
· Assessing the Tail Risk of Sidecars (Version June 12, 2024)
· Catastrophe Analysis in AM Best Ratings (Version Feb. 27, 2026)
· Available Capital and Insurance Holding Company Analysis (Version Sept. 18, 2025)
· Best's National Scale Ratings (Version July 31, 2025)
· Scoring and Assessing Innovation (Version Feb. 20, 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: July 3, 2025
· Initial Rating Date: Feb. 27, 2018
· Date Range of Financial Data Used: Dec. 31, 2020-Dec. 31, 2025
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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.