A.M. Best Affirms Ratings Of PartnerRe Ltd
A.M. Best has removed from under review with negative implications and affirmed the financial strength rating [FSR] of A [Excellent] and the issuer credit rating [ICR] of “a+” of Partner Reinsurance Company Ltd and its affiliates.
A.M. Best has also removed from under review with negative implications and affirmed the ICR of “bbb+” of PartnerRe Ltd. and its existing issue ratings. The outlook assigned to each rating is stable. PartnerRe Ltd and PartnerRe are domiciled in Hamilton, Bermuda,
The ratings agency said, “In March 2016, PartnerRe Ltd. and EXOR S.p.A [EXOR], an Italian investment holding company, concluded a merger agreement originally announced in August of 2015. The current rating action reflects the resolution of uncertainty around PartnerRe’s management and business plan under EXOR ownership.
“Additionally, the ratings reflect PartnerRe’s strong risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequecy Ratio [BCAR], and its well-regarded global business profile. PartnerRe maintains a highly diversified book of reinsurance business across both non-life and life lines of business, as well as a balanced geographic spread of risk. A.M. Best still has concerns about PartnerRe’s focus on reinsurance due to the very challenging market conditions.
“Under EXOR ownership, A.M. Best believes that PartnerRe’s financial flexibility will be maintained as it still has access to the capital markets on a stand-alone basis, as well as potentially through EXOR, which is a publicly traded company in Italy.
“Rating factors that could lead to a positive outlook or rating upgrade would be improvement in distribution platforms, long-term consistently strong operating profitability and continued maintenance of excellent risk-adjusted capital levels through various market conditions.
“Rating factors that could lead to a negative outlook or a downgrade include unfavorable operating results, outsized insurance or investment losses, and a significant decline in risk-adjusted capital that would not be supportive of the current rating levels.”
