S&P Global Market Intelligence compiles ratings actions in the insurance space daily through 5 p.m. ET. Actions after 5 p.m. ET will be included in the following day's roundup.
U.S. and Canada
A.M. Best affirmed the financial strength rating of A- and the long-term issuer credit rating of "a-" of Bermuda's Hamilton Re Ltd. The outlook is stable.
The ratings reflect the company's balance sheet strength, which A.M. Best categorizes as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.
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A.M. Best affirmed the financial strength rating of B and the long-term issuer credit rating of "bb+" of Lake Bluff, Ill.-based ELCO Mutual Life & Annuity. The outlook was changed to positive from stable.
The ratings reflect the company's balance sheet strength, which A.M. Best categorizes as weak, as well as its strong operating performance, neutral business profile and marginal enterprise risk management.
The revised outlook considers a continued strengthening in ELCO Mutual's balance sheet, such as improving risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best's Capital Adequacy Ratio, from profit-based growth in absolute capital, improvements in the risk profile of its investment portfolio and reduced reinsurance leverage.
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Fitch Ratings affirmed the BBB+ long-term issuer default rating of Allied World Assurance Co. Holdings Ltd., a Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. subsidiary.
The A insurer financial strength ratings of the company's property and casualty and reinsurance subsidiaries were also affirmed. Those subsidiaries are Allied World Assurance Co. Ltd., Allied World Assurance Co. (U.S.) Inc., Allied World National Assurance Co. and Allied World Insurance Co.
The outlook for all ratings is stable.
Allied World Assurance's ratings consider its moderate business profile with a global franchise in specialty primary insurance lines and reinsurance operations, history of conservative capitalization metrics, and strong underwriting, according to Fitch.
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Fitch affirmed Enstar Group Ltd.'s long-term issuer default rating of BBB. The outlook is stable.
The affirmation takes into consideration the company's solid business franchise acquiring and managing nonlife runoff companies, strong profitability rooted from consistent favorable reserve development in nonlife runoff business and reasonable financial leverage.
Europe
A.M. Best affirmed the financial strength rating of A- and the long-term issuer credit rating of "a-" of Dublin-based Greenlight Reinsurance Ireland Designated Activity Co., a subsidiary of Cayman Islands-based Greenlight Capital Re Ltd. The outlook was revised to negative from stable.
The ratings reflect Greenlight Capital Re's balance sheet strength, which A.M. Best categorizes as very strong, as well as its marginal operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.
The negative outlooks reflect A.M. Best's concern over Greenlight Capital Re's business profile, credited to its track record of negative underwriting performance.
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Fitch affirmed with a negative outlook Rome-based SACE SpA's long-term foreign and local issuer default ratings of BBB+. The company's F2 short-term foreign currency issuer default rating was also affirmed.
The ratings were placed under criteria observation on Jan. 15 after the rating agency published its revised global master insurance criteria on Jan. 11.
The affirmation of the company's issuer default rating considers that the uplift after the removal of the prior top-down sovereign cap, which was one of Fitch's steps in reviewing its new criteria's impact, is offset by the impact of modest declines in the scoring of two key credit factors. The key credit factors include Italy's industry profile and operating environment, which Fitch lowered to a range of "a" to "bb+" from "aa+" to "a-" under its new criteria, and business profile, which was downgraded to "bbb" from "a."
SACE's business profile is moderate in comparison with all other Italian insurance companies, according to Fitch's assessment.
Asia-Pacific
A.M. Best affirmed the financial strength rating of A- and the long-term issuer credit rating of "a-" of New Zealand-based Kiwi Insurance Ltd., a subsidiary of New Zealand Post Ltd. The outlook is stable.
The ratings reflect the company's balance sheet strength, which A.M. Best categorizes as strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.
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Moody's placed South Korea-based Lotte Insurance Co. Ltd.'s Baa1 insurance financial strength rating on review for downgrade. The prior outlook was negative.
The review for downgrade considers the possibility of a weakening in Lotte Insurance's business and financial profiles after its sale by Lotte Group to a domestic private equity firm, JKL Partners Inc.
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S&P Global Ratings affirmed its A+ ratings on Australia-based Genworth Financial Mortgage Insurance Pty. Ltd. and Genworth Financial Mortgage Insurance Pty. Ltd. (NZ Branch). The outlook is negative.
The affirmation reflects the rating agency's view that Genworth Australia keeps a very strong competitive position in the Australian lenders' mortgage insurance marketplace. However, in S&P Global Ratings' view, the company's competitive position has weakened in a way, as indicated by a continued decline in its earnings in recent years, though it is largely the result of industrywide impacts.
The negative outlook takes into account the continued pressure on Genworth Australia's competitive position and earnings profile and represents a one-in-three chance the ratings may be downgraded over the next 12 months.
This S&P Global Market Intelligence news article may contain information about credit ratings issued by S&P Global Ratings. Descriptions in this news article were not prepared by S&P Global Ratings.
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