AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of AVLA Seguros de Crédito y Garantía S.A.

Business Wire

MEXICO CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B++ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “bbb+” (Good) of AVLA Seguros de Crédito y Garantía S.A. (AVLA Chile) (Chile). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

The ratings reflect AVLA Chile’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strong, as well as its marginal operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

The ratings also recognize AVLA Chile’s affiliation and strategic importance to its ultimate parent, AVLA Bermuda Holding Corp Ltd. (ABHC), a financial holding company domiciled in Bermuda, engaged in insurance operations in Chile, Peru, Mexico, Brazil and the United States. As of May 2025, ABHC had equity of USD 89 million.

AVLA Chile began operations in Chile in 2013 as AVALCHILE, before changing its name to AVLA Chile in 2016. AVLA Chile specializes in credit insurance and surety; it ranks first in Chile in surety and within the top three in credit insurance, based on market share. AM Best assesses AVLA Chile’s business profile as neutral. The company has redefined its risk appetite successfully through adverse market conditions. In AM Best’s view, management’s capabilities remain key to adjusting its product offerings amid these evolving market conditions.

During the past two years, AVLA Chile’s operating performance has been limited by its underwriting results and has followed a downward trend that as of December 2024, resulted in a USD 1.4 million loss. The company’s results were impacted by an increase in claims from financial guarantees, which could not be offset by revenue from fees for credit studies, tied to credit insurance policies, in contrast to 2023. The company has taken measures to correct this trend, and as of March 2025, combined ratio has returned to premium sufficiency levels. AM Best will continue to monitor AVLA Chile’s results and underwriting quality.

AVLA Chile’s balance sheet strength assessment is strong given its solid capital base for the risks it undertakes. The strong balance sheet strength assessment recognizes the company’s reinsurance dependence, while also taking into account the excellent security level of its reinsurance panel.

AVLA Chile benefits from belonging to the AVLA Group, as reflected by the willingness and proven history of capital contributions made by its shareholders to support growth, with the latest one taking place in 2024, equivalent to USD 4.8 million.

Positive rating actions could take place if AVLA Chile can show a stable upward trend in risk-adjusted capitalization, underpinned by consistently positive bottom-line results. Positive rating actions also could take place if AVLA Chile is able to demonstrate a consistent upward trend in its bottom-line results, that compares favorably with the adequate assessment. Negative rating actions could occur if in AM Best’s opinion, the strategic importance of AVLA Chile to its group decreased significantly, or if the AVLA Group’s consolidated financial strength deteriorated to a point no longer supportive of the current ratings.

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.