Standard & Poor’s reaffirms IGI’s A- rating with stable outlook
Rating agency S&P Global has reaffirmed the financial strength rating of A- with a stable outlook for International General Insurance (IGI), the global specialist commercial insurer and reinsurer.
IGI’s issuer credit and insurer financial strength ratings were reaffirmed by S&P, despite a catastrophe-heavy year in 2017, resulting in additional liability charges.
“S&P reaffirming our A- rating reflects the consistency of our underwriting strategy, strength of our balance sheet and high-calibre talent.” said Wasef Jabsheh, Chief Executive Officer of IGI. “Even in a cat-heavy 2017, IGI’s sound underwriting performance helped us to maintain continued profitability and capital adequacy.”
In its report, S&P said: “IGI’s sound underwriting performance continues as seen in its five-year average net combined ratio of 88% and average net profits of $30 million.”
S&P praised IGI’s business risk profile, calling IGI a “relatively small but geographically-diversified facultative insurer, with a good operating performance”. The rating agency also commented on IGI’s strong capitalisation and effective control over its insurance and catastrophe risks.
“This affirmation will help IGI continue to improve the performance of its core operations and strengthen its balance sheet,” Hatem Jabsheh, Chief Operations Officer at IGI, added. “S&P recognised the investment IGI made in improving its risk capital and analytics software in 2017, which set out to facilitate a more predictable underwriting performance, while creating operational effectiveness.
“This rating is a confirmation of our programme of prudent, well-managed growth matched with increased adoption of technology and innovation,” Mr Jabsheh commented.
In April, IGI published a paper outlining how it modernised its risk, capital and actuarial modelling capabilities to improve the way the company evaluates its own risk.S&P said: “In our opinion, IGI benefits from an experienced management team. It has also proven successful in attracting high-calibre technical and underwriting staff from around the world, and has been able to consistently define and achieve its strategic objectives.”
About IGI
Established in 2001, International General Insurance (IGI) is a global privately-owned specialist commercial insurer and reinsurer. Our vision is to be the company of choice for clients and brokers through market-leading service and our reputation for stable management and capital security.
A diverse and highly experienced team of underwriters operates our office in London. We also have offices in Dubai, Amman, Casablanca and Kuala Lumpur.
Our diverse portfolio of specialty lines includes Energy, Property, Construction & Engineering, Ports & Terminals, Financial Institutions, Aviation, Professional Indemnity, Political Violence, Legal Expenses, D&O, Casualty, Forestry and Treaty Reinsurance.
Standard and Poor’s upgraded our financial strength rating to “A- “, with a Stable outlook. A.M. Best rated the company A- (Excellent), with a Positive outlook, stating, “the revised outlook reflects IGI’s consistent record of very strong operating performance and the continuous improvement in its enterprise risk management framework.”
We take pride in providing proactive claims management, coupled with open communication, leading to the efficient handling of claims. We endeavour to act fairly and honourably in our relations with clients and brokers.