CONTACTS:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LONDON - OCTOBER 02, 2026 09:29 AM (EDT)
AM Best has downgraded the Financial Strength Rating to B++ (Good) from A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating to “bbb+” (Good) from “a-” (Excellent) of SanlamAllianz Re Ltd (SAZ Re) (Mauritius). Concurrently, AM Best has maintained the under review status for these Credit Ratings (ratings) and revised the implications status to developing from negative.
The ratings reflect SAZ Re’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strong, as well as its strong operating performance, neutral business profile and marginal enterprise risk management (ERM). The ratings also reflect, in the form of lift, SAZ Re’s strategic importance to its ultimate co-shareholders, Sanlam Limited (South Africa) and Allianz SE (Germany).
The rating downgrades reflect a revision in AM Best’s assessment of SAZ Re’s ERM to marginal from appropriate. This factors in significant shortcomings in the company’s corporate governance and controls, culminating in a USD 71 million write-off of receivables, equivalent to more than 100% of 2025 opening capital and surplus. During 2026, the new management team undertook a comprehensive review of the business, uncovering additional legacy misstatements, resulting in significant delays of the year-end 2025 financials and corrective capital actions. AM Best notes that SAZ Re has begun the implementation of significant actions to improve its internal controls, processes and governance arrangements; however, these are untested currently and will take time to become embedded within the organisation.
The ratings were first placed under review with negative implications on 29 August 2025, to reflect the uncertainty regarding SAZ Re’s financial position following the aforementioned write-off of receivables. SAZ Re subsequently reported a net loss of USD 20.4 million in 2025, and suffered additional losses in the first half of 2026, resulting in a further reduction of its capital and surplus. The combined impact of these events exceeded the two rounds of remedial capital injections from the shareholders in 2025 and 2026 of USD 47 million and USD 27 million, respectively. AM Best expects SAZ Re to adopt further actions to remediate any shortfall in capitalisation. However, the timeline and means by which the company’s capitalisation will be restored remains uncertain.
The ratings are expected to remain under review with developing implications until AM Best has received SAZ Re’s recapitalisation plan and its year-end 2026 financial statements and has assessed the company’s credit rating fundamentals subsequently.
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.