AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Life Insurance Company Centras Life JSC

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B- (Fair) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “bb-” (Fair) of Life Insurance Company Centras Life JSC (Centras Life) (Kazakhstan). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

The ratings reflect Centras Life’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, very limited business profile and marginal enterprise risk management.

Centras Life’s balance sheet strength is underpinned by its risk-adjusted capitalisation, which is at the strongest level, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR). The assessment factors in the company’s good organic capital generation, with earnings expected to remain fully retained in the next few years, and its limited reliance on reinsurance. An offsetting rating factor is Centras Life’s investment portfolio which, albeit conservative by asset class, has a high degree of concertation and it is exposed materially to the high levels of economic and financial system risks associated with Kazakhstan. In addition, the company maintains a sizeable asset-liability mismatch given the long duration of its liabilities, against the limited availability of long-term bonds of high credit quality.

The adequate operating performance assessment considers Centras Life’s business plan to continue developing its profile as a life insurer. AM Best expects the company to grow its earnings and maintain positive technical profitability over the cycle, notwithstanding the execution risk associated with its planned scale up. In 2025, under IFRS 17, the company reported a return on equity of 26% (2024: 18%), as calculated by AM Best, which should be considered in the context of the high inflationary environment in Kazakhstan.

Centras Life restructured its operations in recent years to become a specialist life insurer. The company operates solely in the competitive Kazakhstan market, underwriting pension annuities, workers’ compensation insurance and traditional life products. The business profile assessment reflects Centras Life’s portfolio, which, albeit projected to grow in the intermediate term, is expected to remain relatively small by domestic and international standards. The company reported gross written premium of KZT 14.9 billion (USD: 30.0 million) in 2025, equivalent to a market share of approximately 1%. The execution and market acceptance risks associated with Centras Life’s plan to scale up in the life segment are mitigated partially by the presence of an experienced and stable management team.

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