S&P Lowers AXA General Hong Kong Rating to ‘BBpi’

Standard & Poor’s announced that it has lowered its public information (‘pi’) rating on AXA General Insurance Hong Kong Ltd., a subsidiary of France’s AXA Group, to double-‘Bpi’ from triple-‘Bpi’.

S&P analyst Connie Wong explained that, “The rating on AXA General Hong Kong reflects the company’s continued unfavorable operating performance and its reduced capitalization.” She indicated, however that “These factors are offset by the company’s good market position.”

S&P’s announcement went on to state that, “AXA General Hong Kong’s integration with AXA Insurance Hong Kong Ltd. in 2000 increased the company’s market share in 2001 to 4% in terms of total premiums, ranking it the fourth-largest insurer in the highly competitive Hong Kong general insurance market.”

“AXA General Hong Kong has a broad business base both in terms of product lines and business sources. Although AXA General Hong Kong’s underwriting results improved in 2000 in comparison with 1999, they deteriorated again in 2001, when its combined ratio rose to 171% compared with 102% in 2000. This was mainly due to an increase in outstanding claims to Hong Kong dollar (HK$) 91 million and a provision of HK$120 million for its unexpired risks in 2001. The company’s return on revenue of 4.7% in 2000 was low compared with the returns of its peers.”|”s&p, lowers, axa, general, hong, kong, rating, ‘bbpi’

Topics AXA XL