AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a” (Excellent) of N.V. Univé Her (Univé Her) (Netherlands), a wholly owned subsidiary of Coöperatie Univé U.A. (Univé Group), a mutual insurance group domiciled in the Netherlands. The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

The ratings reflect Univé Her’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. The ratings also consider Univé Her’s strategic importance to and integration within the Univé Group as its internal reinsurance vehicle, with the company benefiting from rating enhancement as a result.

Univé Her’s balance sheet strength is underpinned by its risk-adjusted capitalisation, which remained at the strongest level at year-end 2024, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR). Given the company’s significant exposure to catastrophe losses, prospective risk-adjusted capitalisation is prone to volatility. An offsetting factor is the company’s dependence on retrocession to manage its natural catastrophe exposure; however, the risks associated with this dependence are partially offset by the high credit quality of the counterparties.

Univé Her’s underwriting results are solid, having generated a five-year (2020-2024) average combined ratio of 74.5% (as calculated by AM Best), and overall operating earnings are supplemented by modest investment returns reflective of the company’s conservative investment portfolio. In 2024, Univé Her reported an after-tax profit of EUR 9.2 million (2023: EUR 3.5 million profit after tax), underpinned by a combined ratio of 48.8% (98.1%), which improved mainly due to the reduced impact of natural catastrophe events compared to 2023. In addition, the company’s five-year average (2020-2024) return-on-equity (ROE) ratio is 3.3% (as calculated by AM Best). Univé Her’s technical performance is subject to periodic volatility, due to its exposure to natural catastrophes.

Given its distinctive role as the Univé Group’s main reinsurer, Univé Her benefits from its exclusive access to the reinsurance business ceded by the Univé mutuals and N.V. Univé Schade. Univé Her is predominantly a monoline reinsurer, offering property excess of loss covers to the regional Univé mutuals. All other product lines are fully retroceded to the external reinsurance market, with the exception of motor hull insurance, which has been partially included within Univé Her’s risk appetite beginning in 2020. An offsetting factor to the business profile assessment is the company’s limited geographic diversification, with its portfolio concentrated exclusively within the Netherlands.

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