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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEXICO CITY - JUNE 02, 2022 01:38 PM (EDT)
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B++ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of “bbb” (Good) of Sura Re Ltd. (Sura Re) (Bermuda). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.
The ratings reflect Sura Re’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM).
Sura Re is the wholly owned captive reinsurer of Suramericana S.A. (Sura), which in turn is 81.1% owned by Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana S.A. The company was established in Bermuda as a Class 3A insurer in December 2015, and in April 2022 received approval from the regulator to operate as a Class C insurer. Its main purpose is to participate in property business underwritten by Sura’s affiliates across Latin America (i.e., Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, México, Panamá and Dominican Republic) to help the group achieve its strategic regional goals. AM Best recognizes the greater relevance that Sura Re is aiming to achieve in Sura’s overall regional strategy, which is starting to be reflected with Sura’s expanded geographical scope.
AM Best assesses the company’s balance sheet strength as very strong, as risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), is more than adequate for the risks it holds. During 2021, capital requirements continued to reflect higher premium risk as the company executes its strategy and retains a higher portion of risks; going forward, AM Best expects capital requirements to be stable without dividend payments in the medium term. Asset-liability management follows a very conservative investment policy focused on maintaining liquidity to cover Sura Re’s obligations in terms of tenure and currencies. Additionally, AM Best considers the company’s ERM practices as appropriate given the complete support by Sura’s expertise and management team.
At December 2021, the company reported positive net profit for the third consecutive year since its inception. Nevertheless, operating performance still reflects a strong dependence on investment income to cover administrative expenses, for which AM Best remains attentive to macroeconomic conditions and its impact on the company’s investment results. The captive nature of the company within the third largest insurance group in Latin America provides flexibility in terms of growth and premium risk to manage its capital and return positions efficiently in the future. AM Best therefore considers operating performance to be adequate for the current ratings.
Negative rating actions could take place if the company fails to meet its financial performance objectives, with results that fall to a level that impacts capital, and therefore, its risk-adjusted capitalization, either by business decisions, importance to its financial group or deteriorating macroeconomic conditions.
AM Best remains the leading rating agency of alternative risk transfer entities, with more than 200 such vehicles rated throughout the world. For current Best’s Credit Ratings and independent data on the captive and alternative risk transfer insurance market, please visit www.ambest.com/captive.
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:
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.
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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.