Financial guaranty insurance provider Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) (together with its subsidiaries, Assured Guaranty) announced that its indirect reinsurance subsidiary Assured Guaranty Re Overseas Ltd. (AGRO) has been assigned a financial strength (FSR) rating of A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best (Best). The rating is the second highest FSR that Best assigns to insurance companies. It is effective as of May 5, 2015, and the outlook is stable.

“We are pleased that AGRO has been awarded this Superior rating by such a highly respected insurance rating agency. Best’s A+ rating will be particularly relevant for the insurance company clients that AGRO will be serving as it executes its business plan," said Dominic Frederico, President and CEO of Assured Guaranty. “We plan to increase AGRO’s activity in targeted sectors of the reinsurance market that meet our disciplined risk management standards and advance Assured Guaranty’s business strategy.”

Best also assigned AGRO an insurance company issuer credit rating (ICR) of “aa” (Superior) with a stable outlook, the second highest ICR rating. The ICR reflects Best’s view of an issuer/entity's ability to meet any ongoing senior financial obligations it may issue.

According to Best:

  • The FSR and ICR ratings reflect AGRO’s strong risk-adjusted capitalization, experienced management with a proven track record, and prudent investment strategy.
  • The ratings also recognize the company’s strong enterprise risk management framework and infrastructure and reflect the operational support and underwriting and risk management capabilities of Assured Guaranty.
  • AGRO’s risk-capitalization is expected to be maintained at an excellent level supported by low projected underwriting leverage and the benefits and support of a broader successful insurance franchise.

Any forward-looking statements made in this press release reflect Assured Guaranty’s current views with respect to future events and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in these statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those resulting from Assured Guaranty’s inability to maintain its current financial ratings; further actions that the rating agencies may take with respect to the financial strength ratings of Assured Guaranty; adverse developments in Assured Guaranty’s insured or investment portfolio; AGRO’s inability to implement its business strategy; other risks and uncertainties that have not been identified at this time, management’s response to these factors, and other risk factors identified in Assured Guaranty’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are made as of May 5, 2015. Assured Guaranty undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

AGRO is an indirect, wholly owned reinsurance subsidiary of AG Re, a financial guaranty reinsurance company based in Bermuda. AG Re is a wholly owned subsidiary of Assured Guaranty Ltd., a Bermuda-based holding company whose shares are publicly traded and are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AGO. The operating subsidiaries of Assured Guaranty Ltd. provide credit enhancement products to the U.S. and international public finance, infrastructure and structured finance markets. More information on Assured Guaranty Ltd. and its subsidiaries can be found at AssuredGuaranty.com.

Additional information about A.M. Best and future rating updates are available at www.ambest.com.