AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Misr Life Insurance Company

Business Wire

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B++ (Good), the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “bbb” (Good) and the Egypt National Scale Rating (NSR) of aaa.EG (Exceptional) of Misr Life Insurance Company (MLIC) (Egypt). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. MLIC is the life insurance subsidiary of Misr Insurance Holding Company (MIHC).

The ratings reflect MLIC’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strong, as well as its strong operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. The ratings also reflect rating enhancement, in the form of a lift, from its parent, MIHC, due to MLIC’s strategic importance to the group.

MLIC’s risk-adjusted capitalisation remained at the strongest level at fiscal year-ended 30 June 2024 (fiscal-year 2024), as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR). AM Best expects MLIC’s BCAR scores to remain above the minimum level required for the very strong assessment, supported by its good internal capital generation. The balance sheet strength assessment also factors in the company’s considerable amount of soft capital, including discretionary bonus reserves and unrealised gains on real estate assets. AM Best considers the quality of MLIC's assets to be weak given its concentration in Egypt, which exposes the balance sheet to potential volatility.

MLIC has a track record of strong operating performance, as demonstrated by a five-year (2020-2024) weighted average return on equity (ROE) of 21.3%. Overall performance has been consistently strong in recent years, as MLIC reported a ROE of 25.0% for fiscal-year 2024. Investment income has provided a consistently favourable contribution to the company’s overall earnings and has been supplemented by foreign exchange gains in most years.

MLIC continues to hold the leading position in Egypt’s life insurance sector, with a market share of approximately 30%, despite a decrease in its gross written premiums by 10.3% during fiscal-year 2024 to EGP 8.4 billion. Management continues to pursue a number of strategic initiatives to enhance its business profile, including expanding its domestic distribution partnerships and its direct sales force.

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 specialising 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.