AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of N.V. Univé Her
AMSTERDAM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 23, 2025--
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.
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'sRecent Rating Activityweb page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please viewGuide 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 viewGuide to Proper Use of Best's Ratings & Assessments.Copyright © 2025 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250523816117/en/
CONTACT: Valentine Gu, AAG
Associate Financial Analyst
+31 20 308 5421
[email protected]
Dr. Mathilde Jakobsen
Senior Director, Analytics
+31 20 808 3118
[email protected]
Christopher Sharkey
Associate Director, Public Relations
+1 908 882 2310
[email protected]
Al Slavin
Senior Public Relations Specialist
+1 908 882 2318
[email protected]
KEYWORD: NETHERLANDS EUROPE
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: PROFESSIONAL SERVICES INSURANCE FINANCE
SOURCE: AM Best
Copyright Business Wire 2025.
PUB: 05/23/2025 09:50 AM/DISC: 05/23/2025 09:48 AM
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250523816117/en
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