Bermuda Sovereign Downgrade Does not affect Bermudian (Re)Insurers: S&P

preferred & negative’s rankings services Made clear that despite its April 28 score motion on Bermuda, “its counterparty credit score and economic power rankings on all Bermuda-primarily based (re)coverage businesses are unchanged.”

S&P cited that it currently fees many (re)insurers in Bermuda in the ‘AA’ category, as exact underneath, and that “in restrained situations” it “quotes (re)insurers better than the nearby-foreign money sovereign credit score rating in line with our criteria. those occasions encompass sure (re)insurers which are domiciled in financial centers. We view Bermuda as a economic center.”

S&P indexed the subsequent Bermudian (re)Insurers as being rated in the ‘AA’ category:

company                                               rating

ACE Bermuda coverage Ltd. AA/stable

ACE Tempest existence Reinsurance Ltd. AA/stable

ACE Tempest Reinsurance Ltd. AA/solid

confident warranty Re Ltd. AA/stable

confident guaranty Re foreign places Ltd. AA/strong

corporate officials and administrators guarantee Ltd. AA/strong

HCC Reinsurance Co. Ltd. AA/strong

top Layer Reinsurance Ltd. AA/strong

ACE INA distant places coverage organisation Ltd. AA-/stable

AIA worldwide limited AA-/strong

Allianz chance transfer (Bermuda) Ltd. AA-/strong

Centre Reinsurance (U.S.) Ltd. AA-/tremendous

DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd. AA-/stable

Hannover lifestyles Reassurance Bermuda Ltd. AA-/stable

Hannover Re Bermuda Ltd. AA-/stable

HSBC life (international) Ltd. AA-/strong

Manulife (international) Ltd. AA-/strong

Renaissance Reinsurance Ltd. AA-/strong

RGA global Reinsurance Co. Ltd. AA-/solid

Stellar insurance Ltd. AA-/bad

Transamerica global Re (Bermuda) Ltd. AA-/solid

Transamerica life (Bermuda) Ltd. AA-/strong

Zurich worldwide (Bermuda) Ltd. AA-/nice

all the rankings for the above agencies are monetary energy ratings as of April 28, 2015.

S&P defined that on April 28 it “decreased its lengthy-term sovereign rating on Bermuda to ‘A+’ from ‘AA-‘. The downgrade reflects our evaluation of Bermuda’s continuing vulnerable financial overall performance, continual authorities deficits, and increases in debt burden, which we expect will maintain thru our two-year outlook horizon.

“The us of a’s economic system stays in recession: real GDP shrunk in 2014 for the 6th consecutive 12 months. The Ministry of Finance believes that the contraction in real GDP can be as plenty as 1.5 percent in 2014. real GDP fell 18 percent with the aid of 2014 from the 2008 top and nominal GDP declined eight percent. exertions marketplace results had been also susceptible in 2014. Bermuda’s unemployment price rose to nine percentage in 2014 from 7 percentage in 2013 (as compared with 8 percent in 2012). Employment fell in both 2013 and 2014, as it has when you consider that every yr considering that 2009. by 2014, employment had fallen sixteen percentage from its 2008 top.”

S&P introduced, but that “regardless of the terrible economic performances of recent years, GDP in step with capita stays what we keep in mind very robust, at approximately US$88,000. We trust that real GDP increase may be flat in 2015 however growing to approximately 1 percent boom in 2016.”

in addition the assertion defined that “(Re)insurers that we may additionally price above the sovereign write maximum of their business with policyholders out of doors the economic center, hold maximum of their investments in a shape other than nearby sovereign debt of that financial center, and preserve maximum in their deposits and invested property in economic institutions domiciled out of doors that economic center.

“The Bermudian (re)insurers rated better than the sovereign are commonly part of worldwide (re)insurance companies that behavior most people of their enterprise under a Bermuda license. We consider such (re)insurers’ financial power is independent of the monetary middle’s sovereign threat.

“Bermudian (re)insurers published sturdy consequences in 2014 at the again of benign herbal disaster losses and continued favorable reserve releases. but as pricing keeps to fall, we forecast a combined ratio (a key metric of insurers’ underwriting profitability, with a ratio below 100 percentage indicating an underwriting earnings) inside the variety of 97 percent to 102 percentage for 2015, assuming common historical disaster losses.

“We count on shareholders’ equity for the Bermudian (re)insurers to remain relatively flat in mixture due to the fact capital returns via dividends and proportion repurchases have to eat maximum of the profits for the year. normal reinsurance ability will hold to increase as alternative capital continues developing. We count on that catastrophe bond issuance in 2015 could be in line with 2014’s $8.eight billion or perhaps barely outpace it, at the same time as other styles of collateralized reinsurance will keep growing.”

In conclusion S&P said: “The cutting-edge spherical of consolidation, normally most of the Bermudian (re)insurers, will now not bring about a significant discount of industry capital, reflecting our notion that the number one motivation for these transactions is to achieve a scale that managements deems necessary to compete within the international marketplace. thus, large capital returns are unlikely in those deals.”