A.M. Best Upgrades and Withdraws Ratings of Transneft Insurance Company, JSC

A.M. Best has upgraded the financial strength rating to B++ (Good) from B+ (Good) and the issuer credit rating to “bbb” from “bbb-” of Transneft Insurance Company, JSC (Transneft) (Russia). The outlook for both ratings is stable.

Concurrently, A.M. Best has withdrawn the ratings as the company has requested to no longer participate in A.M. Best's interactive rating process.

The upgrade of Transneft’s ratings reflects A.M. Best’s opinion that the company is fully supported by its parent, OJSC INSURANCE COMPANY OF GAZ INDUSTRY SOGAZ (SOGAZ) (Russia), which acquired Transneft in December 2013. The ratings of SOGAZ have therefore been extended to Transneft.

During 2014, Trasneft continued its process of integration with SOGAZ, including the transfer of the former’s non-captive portfolio. The majority of the remaining insurance portfolio of Transneft will be transferred to SOGAZ by the end of 2016. It is currently uncertain whether the company will continue to operate as a separate legal entity after 2016; however, it is expected that all outstanding policyholder obligations will be supported by SOGAZ.

Transneft maintains a strong level of risk-adjusted capitalisation and has a proven track record of solid operating results, as demonstrated by a three-year average return on net earned premiums of 25.6%.

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 utilised:

• Catastrophe Analysis in A.M. Best Ratings
• Evaluating Country Risk
• Rating Members of Insurance Groups
• Risk Management and the Rating Process for Insurance Companies
• Understanding Universal BCAR

In accordance with Regulation (EC) No. 1060/2009, the following is a link to required disclosures: A.M. Best Europe - Rating Services Limited Supplementary Disclosure.

This press release relates to rating(s) that have been published on A.M. 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 visit A.M. Best’s Ratings & Criteria Center.

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