A.M. Best Company

11/01/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/01/2024 08:34

AM Best Places Credit Ratings of Universal Insurance Company (Guernsey) Limited Under Review With Negative Implications

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NOVEMBER 01, 2024 10:25 AM (EDT)

AM Best Places Credit Ratings of Universal Insurance Company (Guernsey) Limited Under Review With Negative Implications

CONTACTS:

Naz Botea, ACA
Financial Analyst
+44 20 7397 0313
[email protected]

Ghislain Le Cam, CFA, FRM
Senior Director, Analytics
+44 20 7397 0268
[email protected]
Christopher Sharkey
Associate Director, Public Relations
+1 908 882 2310
[email protected]

Al Slavin
Senior Public Relations Specialist
+1 908 882 2318
[email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LONDON - NOVEMBER 01, 2024 10:25 AM (EDT)
AM Best has placed under review with negative implications the Financial Strength Rating of B (Fair) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of "bb" (Fair) of Universal Insurance Company (Guernsey) Limited (UIC) (Guernsey).

These actions on the Credit Ratings (ratings) follow the capitalisation in September 2024 of Protect Insurance PCC Limited (Protect), which is a fully owned subsidiary of Universal Holdings (Guernsey) Limited (UHL), UIC's parent company. This has significantly reduced the cash available at UHL's level, from GBP 7 million at fiscal year-end 2024 (30 June 2024) to an estimated GBP 1 million at the end of September 2024. Protect has been set up as a new risk carrier in Gibraltar, in the form of a Protected Cell Company, as part of UHL's group restructuring.

The ratings have been placed under review with negative implications as AM Best needs time to assess the impact of the UHL group's restructuring on UIC's credit fundamentals, which remain under pressure due to the uncertainty associated with its strategic direction.

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.