Insurance rating agency AM Best has affirmed the excellent financial strength rating (FSR) and long-term issuer credit rating (ICR) of Guardian Life of the Caribbean (GLOC) and good FSR and long-term ICR for Guardian General Insurance Limited (GGIL). AM Best also ascribed a stable outlook to the company.

GLOC and GGIL are subsidiaries of Guardian Holdings Limited, which trades on the Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica stock exchanges.

“The ratings of GHL reflect its consolidated balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses at the strongest level, as well as its strong operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management,” the ratings agency stated.

“The steady, diversified profitability and positive cash flows from GLOC, which is GHL’s core life insurance subsidiary, as well as GGIL and its non-rated operations in the Dutch Caribbean, drive GHL’s capital growth, enhancing GHL’s overall balance sheet strength and debt-servicing capabilities. GHL’s parent, NCB Financial Group Limited, and its wholly owned subsidiary, NCB Global Holdings Limited, own a majority of the outstanding shares in GHL,” AM Best added.

GLOC’s excelling ratings are attributed to its strategic position within the GHL group and strong competitive position in the Trinidad and Tobago markets. The company consistently produces positive operating performances has the strongest level of risk-adjusted capitalisation, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), as well as diversified business profile.

In the case of GGIL, the good ratings is due to its leading regional market presence, long-term favorable operating performance, and its strategic position within the GHL group. Notwithstanding the positive ratings, there are factors challenging general insurance market conditions throughout the Caribbean and GGIL’s exposure to weather-related catastrophe events. However, GGIL has mitigated the impact with its well managed reinsurance programme.

“The stable outlooks reflect AM Best’s expectation that GHL’s balance sheet strength assessment will remain at the strongest level, supported by the strongest level of risk-adjusted capital, as measured by BCAR, and by the companies maintaining a strong level of operating performance over the intermediate term, as well as continued stabilising economic conditions in Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago,” AM Best outlined.

The insurance rating agency said it will continue to monitor the economic conditions in the Caribbean region and take appropriate rating actions as conditions change.