A.M. Best affirms ratings of Generali

Ratings agency A.M. Besthas affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a” of Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. (Generali) (Italy) and its main subsidiaries. At the same time, A.M. Best has assigned the FSR of A (Excellent) and the ICR of “a” to Generali Italia S.p.A. (Italy) and Ceská pojištovna a.s. (Czech Republic). The outlook for all ratings is stable.

The ratings reflect the group’s very strong business position in continental Europe, solid operating performance and slowly improving risk-adjusted capitalisation. Offsetting rating factors include the sensitivity of the group’s risk-adjusted capitalisation to financial market volatility and profitability pressures arising from the challenging macro-economic environment in its core markets.

As one of the largest insurers in Europe, Generali has a very strong franchise in both life and non-life insurance within its core markets, namely Italy, Germany and France, which contributed over 70 percnet of gross written premium (GWP) in 2014. Generali also has a prominent market position in Central and Eastern Europe where the group operates via its wholly owned subsidiary Generali CEE Holding B.V.

In 2014, Generali reported GWP of EUR70.4 billion, up from EUR65.9 billion in 2013, benefitting from the strong revenue growth of the life segment, notably stemming from new products initiatives aimed at increasing the share of unit linked products within the portfolio. Premium revenue is expected to continue to be driven by the life operations, whilst the prevailing economic conditions in Generali’s key markets remain challenging for the non-life segment.