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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEXICO CITY - JULY 22, 2022 12:52 PM (EDT)
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B++ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “bbb” (Good) of Redbridge Insurance Company Limited (RICL) (St. James, Barbados). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.
The ratings reflect RICL’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.
The ratings also reflect the company’s strongest risk-adjusted capitalization as of year-end 2021, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), sound business strategy and its experienced management team. Partially offsetting these positive rating factors are the small size of the company and the challenging environment in which it operates, which could pressure future growth and underwriting performance.
RICL is an insurance and reinsurance company founded in December 2010, and is part of Redbridge Holding, LLC (Redbridge Holding), a company specialized in the management of insurance and reinsurance. Most members of the management team have worked together for many years in developing and expanding RICL; consequently, the company has achieved significant growth in recent years. During 2020, a set of companies originally falling under Redbridge Holding were incorporated into the organizational structure of RICL. These companies provide their services primarily to RICL, further bolstering management’s commitment to expanding RICL.
RICL’s main line of business is health insurance, with a complete network of operations that has enabled growth in the Latin American and Caribbean markets. As of December 2021, health insurance composed 92% of RICL’s portfolio, with life insurance representing the remaining 8%. The company is diversified geographically among 30 countries in the Caribbean and Latin America, with its largest concentration in Venezuela (21%).
Two USD 1 million capital contributions in 2019 led to improvement in RICL’s risk-adjusted capitalization. From 2020 and onward, risk-adjusted capitalization reflects the incorporation of the new entities to the organization. Overall, the balance sheet appears strengthened after the consolidation, but it is still subject to volatility derived from the company’s net business portfolio distribution and growth.
RICL’s loss ratio deteriorated in 2021 compared with previous-year results; however, after the incorporation of the new entities into the organization in 2020, the cost-revenue structure of the company has shifted, and this improved profitability despite the rise in claims. The company has gradually increased its retention, but maintained its underwriting at a healthy volume with respect to the growing capital base, and is expected to maintain underwriting leverage metrics in the near term.
Positive rating actions could occur as a result of continued improvement in operating performance while the company successfully executes its business expansion. Negative rating actions could occur if premium growth or deteriorating underwriting results erode the company’s capital base and reduce risk-adjusted capitalization to a level that no longer supports the ratings. Negative rating actions could also occur as a result of a deterioration in the profile of RICL’s holding company.
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.
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.
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