AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Sanlam Life Insurance Limited

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” (Excellent) of Sanlam Life Insurance Limited (Sanlam Life) (South Africa). Sanlam Life is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sanlam Limited (Sanlam) (South Africa), the non-operating holding company of the Sanlam group. The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

The ratings reflect Sanlam’s consolidated balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strong, as well as the group’s strong operating performance, favorable business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. The ratings of Sanlam Life factor in its strategic importance to and integration within the Sanlam group.

Sanlam’s balance sheet strength is underpinned by its consolidated risk-adjusted capitalisation at the strongest level, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR). AM Best’s assessment of Sanlam’s risk-adjusted capitalisation includes partial credit for its economic capital, which is embedded in its long-term business and equity credit for hybrid debt, which are considered softer elements of the group’s capital structure. The assessment also considers Sanlam’s low financial leverage and good financial flexibility. Despite the group's conservative investment portfolio by asset class, AM Best considers the quality of Sanlam’s assets to be an offsetting factor to the balance sheet strength assessment given its concentration in domestic securities.

Sanlam has a track record of strong operating performance through the business cycle. For year-end 2024, the group reported profit after tax of ZAR 24.8 billion (circa USD 1.3 billion), equivalent to a return-on-equity ratio of 24.0%, benefitting from a well-diversified portfolio by product across life, non-life, credit and asset management segments. Earnings have been supported by strong growth across protection, annuities and savings products, evidenced by growth in the net result from financial services of 14% in 2024. Non-life underwriting performance remains a strong contributor to the group’s profitability, despite the highly competitive market conditions in South Africa and the elevated weather-related events in recent years.

Sanlam is the leading pan-African financial services provider, with its largest market being South Africa. Sanlam's business profile assessment considers the group's well-established and strong brand in key markets on the continent, as well as its diversification across lines of business and distribution channels. Sanlam's growing geographical diversification through its joint venture (JV) with Allianz SE has further strengthened the group’s business profile. The JV has a highly diversified portfolio across 26 African countries and a strong presence in both life and non-life insurance.

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 specialising 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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