AM Best Upgrades Issuer Credit Ratings of Starr International Company, Inc.’s Insurance Subsidiaries
- Written by: iPMI Global
AM Best has upgraded the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICRs) to “a+” (Excellent) from “a” (Excellent) and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) of the insurance subsidiaries of Starr International Company, Inc. (SICO) (Switzerland), a private investment holding company.
The outlook of the Long-Term ICRs has been revised to stable from positive, while the outlook of the FSR is stable. These Credit Rating (rating) actions apply to the members of Starr International Group (SIG) and Starr Insurance & Reinsurance Limited (SIRL) (Bermuda).
The ratings of the members of SIG reflect their balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strongest, as well as their adequate operating performance, favorable business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM). Members of SIG include Starr Indemnity & Liability Company, Starr Surplus Lines Insurance Company and Starr Specialty Insurance Company. These companies are domiciled in Dallas, TX.
The ratings of SIRL and its members reflect their balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strongest, as well as their adequate operating performance, favorable business profile and appropriate ERM. Members of SIRL include Starr Property & Casualty Insurance (China) Company, Limited; Starr International Insurance (Asia) Limited (Hong Kong); Starr International Insurance (Singapore) Pte. Ltd; Starr International (Europe) Limited (United Kingdom); Starr International Insurance (Switzerland) AG (Switzerland) and Starr Europe Insurance Limited (Malta).
The upgrade of the Long-Term ICRs reflects a revision in the operating performance assessment to adequate from marginal of SICO’s subsidiaries. Results have improved considerably in recent years, primarily due to pricing improvements and underwriting initiatives. Overall underwriting results are in line with the commercial casualty composite five-year average combined ratio, with favorable reserve development reported on recent accident years. Additionally, SIG and SIRL continue to report strong growth trends in their key markets.
The operations of SIG and SIRL continue to support a business profile that is well-diversified internationally and by product exposures. The groups have sustained the strongest levels of risk-adjusted capitalization on a consolidated and per-entity basis, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), which is supported further by favorable liquidity metrics. AM Best also notes that each group maintains above-average allocations to alternative asset classes, relative to composite peers, including private equity and debt funds, real estate funds and hedge funds, which are managed by affiliated investment management companies using external asset managers.
