OREANDA-NEWS. National Rating Agency has affirmed its national scale 'AAA' reliability rating on Barents Re Reinsurance Company, Inc. (Barents Re). At the same time, NRA has raised Barents Re’s global scale credit rating to ‘iA’. The company was assigned NRA’s individual reliability rating of ‘AAA’ and a credit rating of ‘iA-’ in 2014.

Barents Re's reliability and creditworthiness are supported by its many years’ presence in the market, including some specialty niches, its premium growth, high geographic diversification, persistently low combined ratio in the past few years and conservative investment strategy.

The credit rating upgrade reflects the company’s improved capitalization (its capital and surplus has grown by 28.1% to US$349.6 million during last year), high solvency margin and strong liquidity position (with its liquid assets almost 5 times greater than its debt) and increasing net income.

Founded in 1996, Barents Re is the largest private-sector reinsurer in Latin America.

Barents Re’s CEO is Gerardo Garcia.

Barents Re operates a subsidiary of Standard Capital Shareholdings, Inc (British Virgin Islands), a division of the Bahama -based Arden & Price, Inc. In 2013-14, Standard Capital Shareholdings, Inc. injected additional US$140 million in Barents Re using proceeds from issue of privileged shares. These funds are intended to support Barents Re’s expansion in Europe.

The company operates regional hubs in Miami, Paris and Beirut and offices in Rome, London, Madrid and Moscow. In 2015, the company opened its offices in Milan and Luxembourg. Its customer base includes over 530 companies based in 56 countries.

Barents Re’s assets totaled US$431.7 million, as of Dec. 31, 2014.

Barents Re has operations mostly in emerging markets in Latin America, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and North Africa. Its gross reinsurance premiums increased 3.24% in 2014 to US$220.1 million with Latin America accounting for around 34% and MENA countries for around 8% of this amount.

The company’s combined ratio was 64.5% in 2013 and 64.9% in 2014.

The company offers the reinsurance of engineering, energy, property, liability risks and accident reinsurance. Barents Re also is active within certain specialized areas of reinsurance, which include construction bonds, political risks and mass-market banking products.

In 2014, Barents Re’s operating performance improved, with the after-tax profit up 11.8% in year-on-year terms to US$34.7 million.

The company’s growth strategy envisages continued regional expansion into Europe, with a focus on areas with low natural catastrophe risks and activity within specialized new areas of reinsurance (aviation, financial lines, etc.).

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