Fitch Upgrades RenRe’s IFS to ‘A+’
Fitch has upgraded the Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) rating on Renaissance Reinsurance Ltd to ‘A+’ from ‘A’. The Rating Outlook is Stable.
Fitch’s rating rationale for the one notch upgrade of RNR’s ratings reflects the company’s continued strong leading position in the property/catastrophe reinsurance market and favorable underwriting results. The ratings also reflect RNR’s reasonable operating and financial leverage and overall high quality and liquid portfolio of fixed-income and short-term investments, although the company’s alternative investments expose its earnings to potential volatility.
Fitch believes that RNR has a leading position in the property/catastrophe reinsurance market derived largely from the company’s ability to provide consistent capacity in the marketplace and its ability to effectively underwrite and price catastrophe-related risks. RNR uses a proprietary model in conjunction with vendor models in its underwriting and risk evaluation process and Fitch views RNR’s property/catastrophe underwriters as having a demonstrated record of expertise. Fitch’s ratings also consider RNR’s modeled losses from simulated catastrophe events.
