S&P Rates SCOR’s Irish Sub ‘AA-’

Standard & Poor’s announced that it has assigned its double-’A'-minus insurer financial strength and counterparty credit ratings to newly created Dublin-based reinsurer Irish Reinsurance Partners Ltd. (IRP) with a negative outlook.

The ratings reflect IRP’s status as a core entity of France’s SCOR Group (AA-/Negative/A-1+), “based on the company’s very strong business position in global reinsurance; very strong, although increasingly pressured, capitalization; and improving underlying operating performance.”

S&P indicated that “IRP’s primary role is to act as a retrocessionaire for SCOR and its subsidiaries–increasing the group’s capacity by a minimum EUR275 million as of Jan. 1, 2002–at a time when reinsurance rates are expected to rise substantially.” It will have a very close working relationship with SCOR.

The report sited WTC related losses as the main reason for the negative outlook, but said that it expects the SCOR group’s combined ratio to recover significantly in 2002 as a result of substantial premium increases. “Consolidated risk-adjusted capitalization is expected to be maintained in excess of 150%. Standard & Poor’s believes that SCOR is likely to remain a key player in the reinsurance industry’s recovery,” the report concluded.