A.M. Best Assigns Ratings to Insurance Corporation of Barbados Limited

A.M. Best Co. has assigned a financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) and an issuer credit rating of “a-” to Insurance Corporation of Barbados Limited (ICBL) (Barbados). The outlook assigned to both ratings is stable.

These rating actions reflect ICBL’s solid capitalization, leading market presence in its domestic market, favorable operating results in recent years and its affiliation with Bermuda-based BF&M Limited, its majority owner.

ICBL is publicly traded on the Barbados Stock Exchange. The company is the leading property/casualty insurer in the Barbados market and enjoys excellent brand recognition. ICBL has achieved favorable underwriting results in recent years through prudent risk selection and underwriting discipline. Underwriting profitability has been augmented by consistent levels of investment income, and this has enabled the company to continue to enhance its solid capitalization.

Furthermore, ICBL’s affiliation with BF&M Limited, which is publicly traded on the Bermuda Stock Exchange, affords the company potential access to the group’s resources, including information technology, financial services and investment management expertise.

Partially offsetting these strengths is the geographic concentration of ICBL’s business in Barbados and the increasingly competitive market environment in which the company operates. ICBL, like other regional insurers, has significant exposure to catastrophic losses. The company manages this risk through the utilization of reinsurance to limit its catastrophe exposure to a manageable level and protect its surplus against frequency of events.

For Best’s Credit Ratings, an overview of the rating process and rating methodologies, please visit http://www.ambest.com/ratings.

The principal methodologies used in determining these ratings, including any additional methodologies and factors that may have been considered, can be found at http://www.ambest.com/ratings/methodology.