AM Best affirmed its ratings for Renaissance Reinsurance and said all of the ratings had a stable outlook.

The New Jersey-based agency said that the ratings reflected the balance sheet strength and the financial flexibility of the group’s parent company.

It also noted adequate operating performance, a favourable business profile and strong enterprise risk management.

According to AM Best, the parent has demonstrated an ability to sell debt and equity in the public and private markets and do so in challenging market conditions. The strength of the management team was also noted.

“While RenaissanceRe remains a leader in the property catastrophe reinsurance segment, the company has gained significant traction in casualty and specialty lines, which now comprise more than half of its underwriting premiums,” AM Best wrote.

“RenaissanceRe is also widely recognised for its leadership in ERM, modelling capabilities and as a pioneer in third-party capital management, where it maintains a strong reputation in evaluating risk and effectively deploying capital.

“As a result, it has attracted capital from outside investors to form several successful joint ventures, including DaVinci, Top Layer Reinsurance, Vermeer, and most recently Fontana Holdings, its first third-party reinsurance capital-backed joint venture focused on casualty and specialty risks.“

Balancing these strengths are potential exposure to losses related to catastrophic events.

“Looking forward, RenaissanceRe appears well positioned to benefit from ongoing broad-based pricing improvement in several of its key product lines, particularly in property catastrophe reinsurance, which saw material rate improvement and tighter terms and conditions at each of the key 2023 renewal periods,” according to the report.

Specifically, AM Best affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A+ and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of aa- of Renaissance Reinsurance, Renaissance Reinsurance US (Maryland), RenaissanceRe Specialty US, Renaissance Reinsurance of Europe Unlimited Company and RenaissanceRe Europe AG.

It also affirmed the Long-Term ICR of a- and the Long-Term Issue Credit Ratings of New York Stock Exchange-listed RenaissanceRe Holdings, and the FSR of A and the Long-Term ICR of a+ of DaVinci Reinsurance and the Long-Term ICR of bbb+ of DaVinciRe Holdings.

AM Best affirmed the FSR of A and the Long-Term ICR of a+ of Vermeer Reinsurance.