Global ratings agency AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” (Excellent) of Vantage Risk Ltd. (Bermuda) and its affiliate, Vantage Risk Specialty Insurance Company (Chicago, IL).
The ratings affirmation from AM Best comes despite an active first year of operations, with Vantage’s underwriting income being adversely impacted by heightened catastrophe losses in its reinsurance business.
At the same time, AM Best highlights that employee turnover and market conditions in its primary insurance businesses resulted in lower primary insurance premium than originally anticipated, “overweighting the impact of the reinsurance portfolio losses.”
However, AM Best expects that as Vantage Group continues to execute on its business plan, the reinsurance portfolio will become relatively smaller than the primary insurance portfolio and therefore have less of an impact to the firm’s bottom line.
While there’s been some challenges to navigate during its first 12 months of operations, Vantage has continued to execute on many of its goals, notes AM Best. This includes hiring staff members at various levels and acquiring new primary insurers to support its business plan.
The credit ratings, for which the outlook is stable, reflect Vantage’s balance sheet strength, which the ratings agency sees as very strong, alongside its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.
AM Best says that it “anticipates that the group’s operating performance will begin to stabilize as its business plan is executed.”
