AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Lion Reinsurance Company Limited

AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of “a” (Excellent) of Lion Reinsurance Company Limited (Lion Re) (Bermuda). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

Lion Re is a subsidiary of ASSA Compañía Tenedora, S.A. (ASSA Tenedora) and is owned ultimately by Grupo ASSA, S.A. (Grupo ASSA), a financial services holding company publicly traded on the Panama Stock Exchange.

The ratings reflect Lion Re´s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

Lion Re is a Bermuda-based reinsurer assuming risks from ASSA Tenedora and affiliates for property, liability, marine, group life (short term), health and miscellaneous businesses. AM Best recognizes the strategic role that Lion Re aims to achieve in the group’s overall regional strategy; however, Lion Re’s business profile is considered limited given its accessibility to markets when compared with other commercial reinsurers.

Lion Re´s continued capital base expansion is supportive of risk-adjusted capitalization being assessed at the strongest level, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), while it continues to perform an important role in ASSA Tenedora’s strategy as it consolidates operations in the Central America region, by providing reinsurance capacity.

Lion Re’s adequate operating performance results from its affiliated insurance companies in the Central America region, as well as its affiliation to Grupo ASSA, which provides synergies, operating efficiencies and guarantee support. The company consistently reviews its underwriting guidelines to improve the performance of business segments that are deviating from targets. Investment income, based on a conservative strategy, continues to support Lion Re’s results; however, the company is not dependent on this revenue to achieve positive bottom-line results.

AM Best does not foresee positive rating action; however, Lion Re’s strategic role within the group and guarantee of support by its parent remain paramount for the current ratings, along with the maintaining of its strongest level of risk-adjusted capitalization. Factors that could lead to negative rating action include a material loss of capital that reduces risk-adjusted capitalization to a level that does not support the ratings, or a diminished strategic importance.

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 specializing 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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