ratings

Credit Agency Gives Tawuniya ‘A’ Rating

Tawuniya/The Company for Cooperative Insurance has secured an ‘A’ rating from Standard & Poor’s after maintaining its “market leading position”. The credit rating agency said the company was still the leading player in Saudi, despite strong competition from rival insurers. Standard & Poor’s (S&P) added that Tawuniya’s strong underwriting performance contributed to its rating. But concerns about the company’s capitalisation were raised in S&P’s ratings report.

Jordan Insurer Given Ratings Downgrade

A Jordanian insurance company has suffered a ratings blow after being downgraded by credit agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P). Middle East Insurance Company’s (MEICO) ‘BBB’ classification has been lowered to ‘BBB-’, amid concerns that Jordan’s economy is set for troubled times. On March 12, S&P downgraded the Kingdom’s long-term local currency sovereign credit rating, basing its reassessment on an uncertain trading environment.

Al Ittihad Gets B+

AM Best Co has assigned a financial strength rating of B+ (Good) and an issuer credit rating of “bbb-” to Al Ittihad Al Watani (L’Union Nationale) Societe Generale d’Assurances du Proche Orient sal (Al Ittihad) (Lebanon). The ratings of Al Ittihad reflect its improving capital position, robust underwriting performance and good business profile. Offsetting factors include its weak investment strategy and underdeveloped risk management framework.

B++ for Jordan Insurance

AM Best Co has assigned a financial strength rating (FSR) of B++ (Good) and an issuer credit rating (ICR) of “bbb” to Jordan Insurance Company Plc (JIC). The ratings of JIC reflect its strong level of risk-adjusted capitalisation, robust underwriting performance and established profile in the Jordanian insurance market. An offsetting factor is the firm’s investment strategy, which gives rise to volatile investment performance.

MEICO Secures BBB Rating

Standard & Poor’s issues ratings boost for Jordanian insurance firm.

Seal Of Approval

With investment income curtailed, rated insurance companies across the Middle East and North Africa face greater scrutiny of their financial strength and risk management practice. Policy spoke to Anandi Nangy-Kotecha, managing senior financial analyst at AM Best, and Kevin Willis, director at Standard & Poor’s.