Best’s News & Research Service - October 07, 2015 11:08 AM (EDT)
A.M. Best Affirms Ratings of Casiopea Re S.A.
Oldwick //BestWire// - A.M. Best has affirmed the financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating of “a-” of Casiopea Re S.A. (Casiopea Re) (Luxembourg). The outlook for both ratings remains stable.
Casiopea Re is a captive of Telefónica S.A. (Spain), a leading provider of telecommunication services across Europe and Latin America.
The ratings reflect Casiopea Re’s excellent risk-adjusted capitalisation, as well as its good, albeit volatile, operating performance.
Casiopea Re’s risk-adjusted capitalisation is likely to remain at an excellent level, supported by good internal capital generation. In addition, the captive has a comprehensive reinsurance programme in place with a panel of financially strong reinsurers, which mitigates the risk of large property and liability losses depleting capital. As the main reinsurer of group risks, Casiopea Re’s risk management is closely integrated with that of Telefónica.
The company has a track record of good, albeit volatile, operating performance, and has reported an average combined ratio of 91% over the past five years. In 2014, Casiopea Re reported a pre-tax profit of EUR 3.0 million, which equated to an adjusted return on capital and surplus of 0.9%. The result was mainly driven by adequate investment profit, partly offset by a modest technical loss.
A.M. 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.
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