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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OLDWICK - DECEMBER 14, 2017 10:44 AM (EST)
A.M. Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Ratings (FSR) of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) of “a-” of the life/health (L/H) and property/casualty (P/C) operating subsidiaries of Colonial Group International Limited (Colonial Group). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. Colonial Group is a wholly owned intermediate holding company of Edmund Gibbons Limited, the ultimate parent company. All companies are domiciled in Bermuda, unless otherwise specified. (See below for a detailed listing of the companies.)
The ratings of Colonial Medical Insurance Company Limited, Atlantic Medical Insurance Limited (Bahamas), Colonial Life Assurance Company Limited, Colonial Insurance (BVI) Limited (British Virgin Islands) and Colonial Insurance Company Limited reflect each company’s balance sheet strength, which A.M. Best categorizes as strongest, as well as their adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM). The balance sheet strength is derived primarily from its strongest risk-adjusted capitalization measures and the long-term favorable operating results, which support capital growth. The business profile is considered limited due to the companies’ operations in a few Caribbean territories with relatively small population targets. The near-term catastrophe events in the Caribbean have negatively impacted the short-term results; however, the diversification of earnings and quality of its reinsurance program allowed the companies to absorb the incurred losses.
The ratings of Security and General Insurance Company Limited (Security and General) (Bahamas) reflect the company’s balance sheet strength, which A.M. Best categorizes as strong, as well as its marginal operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate ERM. Security and General’s balance sheet was bolstered by a fourth-quarter capital contribution from the holding company following losses from hurricanes to strike the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands over the past two years. Operating performance is considered marginal due to losses from hurricanes, which have resulted in Security and General underperforming the P/C industry in the Caribbean. The business profile is limited due to the company’s concentration of risk in property and motor lines of business in the Bahamas, which has contributed to its below average earnings performance.
The ratings of British Caymanian Insurance Company Limited (Cayman Islands) reflect the company’s balance sheet strength, which A.M. Best categorizes as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and adequate ERM. The limitation on the business profile is a consequence of its concentration of underwriting risk in property and motor lines in the Cayman Islands, which are highly competitive and force premium volume down, while losses increase.
The FSRs of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICRs of “a-” have been affirmed with a stable outlook for the following L/H and P/C operating subsidiaries of Colonial Group International Limited:
This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on A.M. 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 A.M. Best’s Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Understanding Best’s Credit Ratings. For information on the proper media use of Best’s Credit Ratings and A.M. Best press releases, please view Guide for Media - Proper Use of Best’s Credit Ratings and A.M. Best Rating Action Press Releases.
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