A.M. Best Affirms Ratings of RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd and Its Subsidiaries; Upgrades Ratings of Glencoe Group and Its Members.OLDWICK, N.J. -- A.M. Best Co. has affirmed af·firm v. af·firmed, af·firm·ing, af·firms v.tr. 1. To declare positively or firmly; maintain to be true. 2. To support or uphold the validity of; confirm. v.intr. the financial strength rating (FSR (Free System Resource) In Windows 3.x, the amount of unused memory in various 64K blocks reserved for managing current applications. Every open window takes some space in this area. See Windows memory limitation. ) of A+ (Superior) and issuer credit ratings (ICR (Intelligent Character Recognition or Image Character Recognition) The machine recognition of hand-printed characters as well as machine printing that is difficult to recognize. ) of "aa-" of Renaissance Reinsurance The contract made between an insurance company and a third party to protect the insurance company from losses. The contract provides for the third party to pay for the loss sustained by the insurance company when the company makes a payment on the original contract. Ltd. (RenRe) and Renaissance Reinsurance of Europe (Dublin, Ireland). A.M. Best also has affirmed the ICR of "a-" and all debt ratings of RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (RenaissanceRe) [NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : RNR RNR Rock 'N Roll RNR Royal Naval Reserve RNR Ribonucleotide Reductase RNR Receive Not Ready (ITU-T; ISDN) RNR Research News Reporter RNR Rest and Relaxation RNR Registry of Nursing Research RNR Rest and Recreation ]. Concurrently, A.M. Best has upgraded the FSR to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) and ICRs to "a" from "a-" for the Glencoe Group and its members. Additionally, A.M. Best has affirmed the FSR of A (Excellent) and ICR of "a" of DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd. (DaVinci). The outlook for all ratings is stable, including Glencoe Group, which has been revised to stable from positive. All companies above are domiciled dom·i·cile n. 1. A residence; a home. 2. One's legal residence. v. dom·i·ciled, dom·i·cil·ing, dom·i·ciles v.tr. 1. in Hamilton, Bermuda, except where specified. (See below for a detailed listing of the companies and ratings.) The rating actions on RenRe reflect its continued superior risk-based level of capitalization and historically excellent underwriting Underwriting 1. The process by which investment bankers raise investment capital from investors on behalf of corporations and governments that are issuing securities (both equity and debt). 2. The process of issuing insurance policies. track record, which is fully supported by outstanding risk management techniques. The ratings also reflect RenRe's superior market reputation as a leader in state-of-the-art property catastrophe modeling
RenRe's operating performance through September 30, 2008 resulted in a 92% combined ratio, placing it above the average performance of its Bermuda peer group. The September 30, 2008 results also include $276 million of net losses attributable to Hurricanes Ike and Gustav. However, overall results were affected by investment losses attributable to the current crisis in the financial markets despite maintaining a portfolio of predominately highly rated fixed income investments. RenRe's affiliate, the Glencoe Group, provides specialty and individual risk direct insurance and quota share For This article is about quota shares (shares of the quota). For other usages of quota, see, see . A quota share is a specified number or percentage of the allotment as a whole (quota), that is prescribed to each individual entity (see Non-tariff barriers to trade). reinsurance to the U.S. market. The upgrading of Glencoe Group's ratings is based on its successful growth in lines of business to less volatile lines, primarily multi-peril crop, commercial multi-line and commercial property business, in addition to reinsurance support provided by RenRe. The combination of the change in market strategy and Glencoe Group's strong risk management controls has led to three consecutive years of combined ratios below 100%. Offsetting these strengths are RenRe's exposure to high severity losses associated with catastrophic events on a worldwide basis as well as exposure to investment losses due to the current credit crisis. These factors are greatly mitigated by RenaissanceRe's disciplined and analytical underwriting approach, sophisticated catastrophe modeling capabilities and active monitoring controls over both reserves and investments. The FSR of A+ (Superior) and ICRs of "aa-" have been affirmed for Renaissance Reinsurance Ltd. and Renaissance Reinsurance of Europe. The FSR has been upgraded to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) and the ICRs to "a" from "a-" for the Glencoe Group and its following members: * Glencoe Insurance Ltd. * Stonington Insurance Company * Lantana lantana (lăntā`nə): see verbena. lantana Any of more than 150 shrubs that make up the genus Lantana in the verbena family, native to the New World and African tropics. Insurance Ltd. * Stonington Lloyds Insurance Company The FSR of A (Excellent) and ICR of "a" have been affirmed for DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd. The ICR of "bbb" has been affirmed for DaVinciRe Holdings Ltd. The ICR of "a-" has been affirmed for RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. The following debt ratings have been affirmed: RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd.-- -- "a-" on $100 million 5.875% senior unsecured notes, due 2013 -- "bbb" on $100 million 7.30% Series B perpetual preferred stock Stock shares that have preferential rights to dividends or to amounts distributable on liquidation, or to both, ahead of common shareholders. Preferred stock is given preference over common stock. Holders of preferred stock receive dividends at a fixed annual rate. -- "bbb" on $250 million 6.08% Series C perpetual preferred stock -- "bbb" on $300 million 6.6% Series D perpetual preferred stock The following indicative shelf debt ratings have been affirmed: RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd.-- -- "a-" on senior unsecured -- "bbb+" on subordinated -- "bbb" on preferred stock RenaissanceRe Capital Trust II-- -- "bbb" on trust preferred securities For Best's Debt Ratings, all other Best's Ratings Best's rating A rating A.M. Best Co. assigns to insurance companies based on the company's ability to meet its obligations to its policyholders. , an overview of the rating process and rating methodologies, please visit www.ambest.com/ratings. The principal methodologies used in determining these ratings, including any additional methodologies and factors, which may have been considered, can be found at www.ambest.com/ratings/methodology. Founded in 1899, A.M. Best Company is a global full-service credit rating organization dedicated to serving the financial and health care service industries, including insurance companies, banks, hospitals and health care system providers. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. |
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