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A.M. Best Affirms Ratings of SCOR SE's North American Life and Non-Life SubsidiariesOLDWICK, N.J. --(Business Wire)-- A.M. Best has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of A (Excellent ) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) of "a+" of SCOR Global Life USA Reinsurance Company (SCOR Global Life USA) (Wilmington, DE), SCOR Global Life Americas Reinsurance Company (Wilmington, DE) and SCOR Global Life Reinsurance Company of Delaware (Wilmington, DE) (collectively referred to as SCOR U.S. Life). Additionally, A.M. Best has affirmed the financial strength rating of A (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating of "a+" for SCOR Reinsurance Company (New York, NY), SCOR Canada Reinsurance Company (Toronto, Ontario), General Security National Insurance Company (New York, NY) and General Security Indemnity Company of Arizona (Phoenix, AZ). The outlook for all ratings is stable. The ratings of SCOR U.S. Life reflect its key role as the North American life reinsurance marketing arm of SCOR SE (SCOR) (France). SCOR U.S. Life is one of the largest life reinsurers in the United States, having gained significant scale in the United States through two substantial acquisitions over the past three years (i.e., Transamerica (News - Alert) Re's life mortality business and Generali USA Life Reassurance Company). The ratings also incorporate explicit parental support provided by SCOR to SCOR U.S. Life in the form of capital guarantee agreements and funding solutions associated with Regulation XXX reserve requirements. Moreover, the ratings reflect SCOR U.S. Life's strong risk-adjusted capital position, recent positive statutory earnings, conservative investment portfolio, and strong market share positions within the United States to support its parent's focus on traditional life mortality business.
The rating affirmation of SCOR's North American non-life subsidiaries reflect the companies' more than adequate risk-adjusted capitalization and strengthened business profile of the SCOR organization. Furthermore, the ratings reflect the group's strong overall earnings and enterprise risk management in challenging market conditions. SCOR's North American domiciled property and casualty subsidiaries provide geographic diversification to SCOR by providing access to the United States, Canada, Latin America and Caribbean. Partially offsetting these positive factors are the highly competitive reinsurance market and diminishing investment yields. Although SCOR sits comfortably within its current rating level, upward rating movement could arise through management actions to maintain the current level of risk-adjusted capitalization coupled with a continued strong operating performance through challenging market conditions. Downward rating pressure could arise from a material reduction in risk-adjusted capitalization or a prolonged deterioration in profitability. The methodology used in determining these ratings is Best's Credit Rating Methodology, which provides a comprehensive explanation of A.M. Best's rating process and contains the different rating criteria employed in the rating process. Best's Credit Rating Methodology can be found at www.ambest.com/ratings/methodology. Key insurance criteria reports utilized:
A.M. Best Company is the world's oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. Copyright © 2014 by A.M. Best Company, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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