AM Best Revises Outlooks to Positive and Affirms Credit Ratings of Seguros Universales, S.A.

MEXICO CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
AM Best has revised the outlooks to positive from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B+ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “bbb-” (Good) of Seguros Universales, S.A. (Universales) (Guatemala).

The Credit Ratings (ratings) reflect Universales’ balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its marginal operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

The positive outlooks reflect Universales’ growing capital base and improvement in its risk-adjusted capitalization, as well as AM Best expectations that the company will continue to improve operating performance either by underwriting or administrative efficiencies.

Universales, which was established in 1962, is the fourth-largest insurer in Guatemala. The company’s portfolio, as of December 2025, is composed mainly of non-life products (87%), with the remainder (13%) focused on the life insurance market. The company holds very competitive positions in Guatemala’s property/casualty and accident and health segments, ranking fourth and fifth, respectively. The company is owned privately by a group of 10 shareholders, none with a stake larger than 29%.

AM Best assesses Universales’ balance sheet strength as very strong, due to the availability and quality of its capital, reinsurance protection and its conservative risk profile. The company’s risk-adjusted capitalization has shown stability at the strongest level, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), which coupled with a growing capital base has driven the positive outlooks. Universales’ consistently profitable results are reflected in its growing capital base, which has a conservative risk profile, as well as well-structured dividend payments. Universales has a reinsurance program based on a mixture of treaty and facultative programs with highly rated reinsurers, which historically have been effective in protecting its balance sheet.

AM Best views Universales’ business profile as neutral, based on the company’s market position and its ability to develop niche markets through commercial alliances, distribution channels and by developing new product offerings. The company’s management capabilities continuously seek better opportunities to provide a more comprehensive service to its client base, while developing its technological capabilities.

AM Best views Universales’ operating performance as marginal due to its dependency on other technical income and investment results to generate positive bottom-line results, as its combined ratio has been consistently above 100. During 2025, the company posted positive bottom-line results of 39.1 million quetzales. AM Best will continue to monitor Universales’ performance as its market experience develops.

Positive rating actions could take place if Universales continues to demonstrate stability in its risk-adjusted capitalization while consistently strengthening its capital base. Positive rating actions could also take place if operating performance improves in a consistent and sustained way in the medium term. Negative rating actions could take place if the company’s capital base deteriorates as a consequence of higher-risk undertakings or underperforming business without prudent capital management.

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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Inger Rodriguez
Senior Financial Analyst

+52 55 1102 2720, ext. 108

inger.rodriguez@ambest.com

Alfonso Novelo
Senior Director, Analytics

+52 55 1102 2720, ext. 107

alfonso.novelo@ambest.com

Christopher Sharkey
Associate Director, Public Relations

+1 908 882 2310

christopher.sharkey@ambest.com

Al Slavin
Senior Public Relations Specialist

+1 908 882 2318

al.slavin@ambest.com

Source: AM Best