Al Ahleia Insurance Co (Al Ahleia) has a strong market position as one of the top three players in the Kuwaiti insurance market in terms of direct premiums written, notes Moody's Ratings (Moody's).
Al Ahleia is a leading insurance group in Kuwait focused on life, health and property and casualty (P&C) insurance, as well as reinsurance through its subsidiary Kuwait Reinsurance Co (Kuwait Re), which operates in a number of markets internationally.
The global credit rating agency cites this as a factor for its affirmation of Al Ahleia’s ‘A3’ insurance financial strength rating (IFSR). The outlook remains positive.
Moody’s also based the ratings affirmation on Al Ahleia’s
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product and geographic diversification derived through Kuwait Re's growing business
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solid capital adequacy with well-managed risk exposures, and
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strong financial performance and profitability.
Moody’s says that Al Ahleia’s strengths are partially offset by (i) the more modest scale of the group's reinsurance business relative to many other international reinsurers, and (ii) limited geographic diversification of its P&C insurance business which increases its exposure to high competition in the relatively small domestic market.
The affirmation also reflects Moody’s expectation that Al Ahleia's credit profile will remain supported by its strong capital, liquidity buffers and risk management, positioning the group well to withstand financial pressures from the Middle East conflict.
The positive outlook reflects the potential for Al Ahleia to further strengthen its market position and geographic diversification, supported by its subsidiary Kuwait Re's well-established franchise and growth in international reinsurance markets. It also reflects the group's good underwriting discipline, which has supported steady improvements in operating profitability, and its enhanced asset quality, with a reduced level of high-risk invested assets.
Moody’s also said, “The uncertainty stemming from the Middle East conflict extends the time horizon over which we expect these positive drivers to materialise on a sustained basis. Accordingly, we would look for some of the uncertainty around the potential impacts on Gulf economies and the group's business growth and underwriting performance to be reduced before resolving the positive outlook.”