A.M. Best Assigns Ratings to Starr International (Europe) Limited

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- A.M. Best has assigned a financial strength rating of A (Excellent) and an issuer credit rating of “a” to Starr International (Europe) Limited (SIEL) (United Kingdom). The outlook assigned to each rating is stable.

The ratings of SIEL reflect its excellent risk-adjusted capitalisation, the expectation of good prospective operating performance and its good business profile as a subsidiary of Starr Insurance & Reinsurance Limited (SIRL), which is itself a subsidiary of Starr International Company, Inc. SIEL receives explicit support from SIRL in the form of a capital maintenance agreement.

An offsetting rating factor is SIEL’s reliance on reinsurance, with the company expecting premium retention to be approximately 30%.

In March 2016, the UK insurance regulator, the Prudential Regulation Authority, authorised SIEL to write non-life insurance, enabling it to write business previously written by the existing London branch of SIRL with effect from 1 July 2016. The new company was provided with USD 100 million of capital by SIRL, thereby ensuring an excellent level of risk-adjusted capitalisation for the immediate future.

A.M. Best expects SIEL’s prospective operating performance to be good. Earnings are expected to be underpinned by solid underwriting profits, boosted by reinsurance commission and modest investment income, reflecting SIEL’s conservative investment portfolio and the low interest rate environment. Potential volatility will be reduced by quota share and other reinsurance arrangements.

SIEL is likely to benefit from a good business profile as a member of the Starr International Insurance group, a global group providing property, casualty, and accident & health insurance products, as well as a range of specialty coverages including aviation, marine, energy and excess casualty insurance. The London branch of the Starr International Insurance group has been operating since 2010, and in 2015 it led on almost 40% of risks written. With nearly all of its business written on a direct and facultative basis, SIEL has an established market presence with insurance brokers.

This press release relates to rating(s) that have been published on A.M. 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 A.M. Best’s Recent Rating Activity web page.

A.M. Best is the world’s oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright © 2016 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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A.M. Best

David Drummond, +44-20-7397-0327

Senior Financial Analyst

[email protected]

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Mathilde Jakobsen, +44-20-7397-0266

Associate Director, Analytics

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or

Christopher Sharkey, +1-908-439-2200, ext. 5159

Manager, Public Relations

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Jim Peavy, +1-908-439-2200, ext. 5644

Assistant Vice President, Public Relations

[email protected]

Source: A.M. Best