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AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings and Assigns National Scale Rating to IRB-Brasil Resseguros S.A.

By: via Business Wire

AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” (Excellent) of IRB-Brasil Resseguros S.A. (IRB) (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). Concurrently, AM Best has assigned the Brazil National Scale Rating (NSR) of “aaa.BR” (Exceptional) to IRB. The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

The ratings reflect IRB’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses at the strongest level, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM).

The stable outlooks are underpinned by AM Best’s expectation that IRB’s balance sheet strength will remain at the strongest levels, supported by a sustained improving trend of its operating performance and benefiting from the initiatives implemented by the management.

IRB’s surplus has grown over the last five to seven years and its strongest level of risk-adjusted-capitalization Best’s Credit Adequacy Ratio (BCAR) scores are in the top category for a company at its rating level. The company’s balance sheet also benefits from protection via a retrocession program with highly rated reinsurers that limits IRB's net exposures to manageable levels.

AM Best assesses IRB’s operating performance as adequate due to the changes in its results. Throughout 2025, the company has improved its operating performance through refining its portfolio, which aided in the recovery from its performance in prior years. This was supported by a change in the company’s culture resulting in a positive trend in its bottom-line results.

IRB is the dominant reinsurance market participant in Brazil. As of December 2024, IRB had an almost 33.7% share of Brazil’s domestic reinsurance market. IRB ranked in the mid-range of AM Best’s most recent Global Reinsurance Top 50 ranking at No. 16 (based on IFRS 17).

AM Best acknowledges that IRB has taken many steps to reinforce its ERM and governance structures, and these improvements helped stabilize its operations. AM Best recognizes that the changes continued to show a trend of improvement in the company’s underwriting performance.

A factor that could lead to negative rating action is the macroeconomic conditions, which could further contribute to a deterioration in IRB's operating performance and become an obstacle to its ability to raise capital, if needed. While no positive rating actions are foreseen in the short term, a positive rating action could take place if the company continues to show improvements in its operating performance by implementing its transformation strategy.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM 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 see AM Best’s Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best’s Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best’s Credit Ratings, Best’s Performance Assessments, Best’s Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best’s Ratings & Assessments.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright © 2025 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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