AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Jacana Re Limited

AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a” (Excellent) of Jacana Re Limited (Jacana Re) (Guernsey). Jacana Re is a subsidiary of BHL Holdings Limited (BHL), a non-operating holding company. The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

The ratings reflect Jacana Re’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. In addition, the ratings consider, in the form of lift, Jacana Re’s strategic importance to its parent company, BHL, as the group’s internal reinsurer.

Jacana Re’s balance sheet strength is underpinned by its risk-adjusted capitalisation, which was at the strongest level at year-end 2023, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR). The balance sheet strength assessment reflects the company’s conservative investment portfolio, which supports its excellent liquidity position, and moderate underwriting leverage. During 2022, the company received a capital injection to support its growing exposure to catastrophe risk in Australia.

Jacana Re has a track record of strong operating performance, evidenced by a five-year (fiscal-years 2019-2023) weighted average combined ratio and weighted average return-on-equity ratio of 85.1% and 19.9%, respectively. Jacana Re’s performance reflects the company’s strong underwriting discipline across the underlying books of business that it reinsures. Investment income makes a small, albeit positive, contribution to overall earnings.

Jacana Re was established in Bermuda in March 2004 as an internal reinsurer of the BHL group and re-domiciled to Guernsey in 2013. The risks underwritten by Jacana Re stem from South Africa and Australia. The entity is used by BHL as a risk management tool, retaining 100% of risks ceded from insurance companies of the BHL group and its ultimate shareholders. Jacana Re’s business profile assessment is constrained somewhat by the geographic concentration of premium volume and lines of business underwritten.

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. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

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