AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of SiriusPoint Ltd. and Its Subsidiaries
April 26 2024 - 8:58AM
Business Wire
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A-
(Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR)
of “a-” (Excellent) of the rated operating subsidiaries of
SiriusPoint Ltd. (SiriusPoint) (Bermuda) [NYSE: SPNT].
Additionally, AM Best has affirmed the Long-Term ICR of “bbb-”
(Good) of SiriusPoint, which is a non-operating holding company.
The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. (See below
for a detailed listing of the companies and ratings).
The ratings reflect SiriusPoint’s consolidated balance sheet
strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its
adequate operating performance, neutral business profile, and
appropriate enterprise risk management. The ratings of the group’s
operating subsidiaries factor in their strategic importance to
SiriusPoint.
SiriusPoint’s balance sheet strength is underpinned by its
risk-adjusted capitalisation, which was at the strongest level at
year-end 2023, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR).
This assessment also considers the significant de-risking of
SiriusPoint’s asset base over the course of 2022 and 2023,
following the redemption of more than USD 600 million from related
party investment funds and the reinvestment of the proceeds into
high quality fixed income securities. Consequently, at year-end
2023, cash and fixed income securities comprised 94% of
SiriusPoint's investment portfolio, up from 79% in 2021. A
partially offsetting rating factor is the group's limited capital
fungibility due to a significant, albeit reducing, portion of
consolidated available capital being held as a safety reserve in
the group’s Sweden subsidiary.
For year-end 2023, SiriusPoint recorded a profitable
underwriting result, evidenced by a 93% combined ratio (as
calculated by AM Best), a material improvement against the previous
year of 107%. AM Best expects SiriusPoint’s prospective
underwriting results to remain profitable with reduced volatility
as its management continues to rebalance the business mix away from
catastrophe-exposed property business toward less volatile accident
and health and specialty lines. SiriusPoint reported a robust
pre-tax profit of USD 319 million in 2023, benefitting from a
rebound in both underwriting and investment income, the release of
USD 105 million of reserves following the completion of a loss
portfolio transfer, as well as a one-time deferred tax benefit of
USD 101 million attributable to the enactment of the Bermuda
corporate income tax.
SiriusPoint’s neutral business profile assessment reflects its
market position as a mid-tier global (re)insurer, which operates
from platforms in Europe, the United States, Bermuda and at
Lloyd’s. The group has a good level of diversification by line of
business, which is expected to improve further as it executes its
business plan.
The FSR of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICRs of “a-”
(Excellent) have been affirmed, with stable outlooks for the
following subsidiaries of SiriusPoint Ltd.:
- SiriusPoint America Insurance Company
- SiriusPoint Bermuda Insurance Company Ltd.
- SiriusPoint International Insurance Corporation (publ)
- SiriusPoint Specialty Insurance Corporation
This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been
published on AM 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 AM Best’s Recent Rating
Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and
limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best’s
Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best’s
Credit Ratings, Best’s Performance Assessments, Best’s
Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please
view Guide to Proper Use of Best’s Ratings &
Assessments.
AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and
data analytics provider specialising in the insurance industry.
Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in
over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam,
Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information,
visit www.ambest.com.
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