AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Fortegra Europe Insurance Company Limited

AMSTERDAM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” (Excellent) of Fortegra Europe Insurance Company Limited (FEI) (Malta). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

The ratings reflect FEI’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. The ratings also reflect FEI’s strategic importance to the Fortegra Financial Corporation (FFC) group, a U.S. insurance group specialising in program underwriting for personal and commercial property/casualty lines of business. FEI is a Malta-incorporated start-up subsidiary of FFC with a track record of financial and operational support from FFC. FEI was established in 2018 to write warranty and specialty motor insurance business in several European markets.

FEI’s risk-adjusted capitalisation, as measured by Best's Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), is at the strongest level, based on year-end 2020 audited financial statements. AM Best anticipates that the company’s BCAR scores will remain at the strongest level prospectively, based on its projections. FEI’s balance sheet strength is supported by its conservative investment portfolio, good liquidity and further capital contributions from FFC during the start-up phase. FEI received approximately USD 41 million in capital injections from FFC between 2019 and 2021 calendar years. Additionally, FEI benefits from a quota share agreement entered into with FFC in 2021 that partially alleviates the high risk-adjusted capital requirements in BCAR, driven by the elevated underwriting risk and reflected in the higher capital charges applied to a start-up company.

At year-end 2020, FEI’s second full year of operation, the company generated a profit of USD 3.3 million (2019: USD 0.2 million). The year-end 2020 combined ratio was 80.8% (as calculated by AM Best) compared with 87.3% reported in 2019. This improvement is attributed to a lower expense ratio, due to the company gaining scale. Additionally, the year-end 2020 return on equity (ROE) was 8.3% (2019: 1.1%) (as calculated by AM Best). AM Best expects FEI to continue generating profitable technical results, supported by local and group underwriting expertise.

FEI is still considered a start-up company, as such its portfolio is relatively small and has limited diversification by product line and geography; its underwriting exposure is concentrated in auto coverage in the United Kingdom. During 2019, FEI accelerated its growth relative to its original business plan following the unforeseen exit of another market participant; however, premium written has since stabilised. FEI uses third-party administrators and brokers to distribute its products. FEI’s significant reliance on a number of outsourcing partners represents a source of risk, which it aims to mitigate through careful selection, management and monitoring.

FEI’s ratings benefit from the support of its parent, FFC, and plays a strategically important role in expanding FFC’s operations into Europe. FEI shares branding and management with its parent. FFC’s support is demonstrated by multiple capital contributions to FEI between 2019 and 2021, and the expectation that it will provide further capital to support the company during the five-year start-up phase.

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.

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