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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LONDON - DECEMBER 23, 2016 11:26 AM (EST)
A.M. Best has assigned a Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a+” to Covéa Coopérations (France). The outlook assigned to these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.
Covéa Coopérations is the intermediate operating holding company of société de groupe d’assurance mutuelle (SGAM) Covéa, a leading mutual insurance group in France. Following a restructuring in recent years, the majority of Covéa’s operating insurance companies is now held under Covéa Coopérations, streamlining the SGAM’s structure, and increasing the integration of the group’s operations and the strategic alignment of its members.
In October 2015, Covéa Coopérations received regulatory approval to underwrite reinsurance business and subsequently commenced operations during 2016. Since then, the company has been writing a portfolio of life and health reinsurance business, and accepting a retrocession quota share from Assurances Mutuelles de France (AM), a founding member of Covéa. Starting January 2017, AM’s existing reinsurance portfolio is expected to be renewed by Covéa Coopérations, making Covéa Coopérations the Covéa group’s primary reinsurance arm.
As the central entity of the SGAM, Covéa Coopérations is owned by mutual members of the group, each being part of one of three historical mutual groups: AM, La Garantie Mutuelle des Fonctionnaires (the AM-GMF group), MAAF Assurances, MAAF Santé (the MAAF group), MMA IARD Assurances Mutuelles, MMA Vie Assurances Mutuelles and DAS Assurances Mutuelles (the MMA group), with each historical mutual group owning 33.3% of Covéa Coopérations.
The ratings reflect the strategic importance of Covéa Coopérations within the Covéa group and benefit from Covéa’s excellent business profile as a market leader in France’s non-life insurance market. In addition, the ratings are supported by Covéa’s strong consolidated risk-adjusted capitalisation, and its solid operating and technical performance, with Covéa reporting a combined ratio of 98.5% for 2015.
The ratings of Covéa Coopérations also consider its good standalone risk-adjusted capitalisation and the expectation that the company will continue to generate solid profits, albeit driven by its investment income. A.M. Best notes that as a reinsurer, Covéa Coopérations’ business profile is expected to remain limited, as a following treaty reinsurer on its international portfolio, and considering the start-up nature of its life and health reinsurance activities.
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.
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