Insurance

SiriusPoint’s excellent ratings not affected by private receivership – AM Best

Dec 18, 2023 1 year ago

Ratings agency, however, acknowledges the possibility of reputational risks

By Kenneth Araullo

Dec 18, 2023 Share

AM Best has maintained the ratings of specialty re/insurer’s SiriusPoint Ltd’s operating subsidiaries, affirming their financial strength rating at A- (Excellent) and long-term issuer credit rating at “a-” (Excellent). This decision follows reports of CMIG International Holding Pte Ltd, the parent company of SiriusPoint’s principal shareholder CM Bermuda Ltd, entering private receivership in Singapore.

AM Best believes that SiriusPoint and its subsidiaries are sufficiently insulated from the financial challenges faced by CM Bermuda, including any potential risk of capital extraction that could negatively impact SiriusPoint’s operations. The rating agency emphasized that the operational and financial strength of SiriusPoint remains separate from the parent company’s debt issues.

The relationship between SiriusPoint and CM Bermuda has evolved following the 2021 merger between Third Point Reinsurance Company Ltd and Sirius International Insurance Group Ltd. Post-merger, CM Bermuda’s shareholding and voting rights in SiriusPoint decreased to 33% and 9.9%, respectively.

According to AM Best, this reduced stake limits CM Bermuda’s influence over SiriusPoint’s operations.

However, AM Best acknowledged the possibility of reputational risks for SiriusPoint due to its association with CM Bermuda. The agency stated that if SiriusPoint’s rating fundamentals are significantly affected by any reputational risks stemming from CM Bermuda, a prompt review of the ratings would be conducted.

In other recent developments, SiriusPoint, along with ProVerity Underwriters, a program administrator, announced a new strategic partnership aimed at enhancing their presence in the professional liability market.

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