AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Harrington Re Ltd. and Harrington Reinsurance Holdings Limited

AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of “a-” (Excellent) of Harrington Re Ltd. (Harrington). AM Best also has affirmed the Long-Term ICR of “bbb-” (Good) of Harrington Reinsurance Holdings Limited. Both companies are domiciled in Bermuda. The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

The ratings reflect Harrington’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.

Harrington, which commenced operations in 2016, is sponsored by AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (AXIS) and The Blackstone Group Inc. (Blackstone). Harrington’s risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best's Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), was consistent with a strongest BCAR assessment. Prospectively, AM Best expects Harrington’s BCAR scores to remain supportive of the ratings.

The company employs an alternative asset strategy, which has resulted in significant exposure to market volatility. The company is in the process of reallocating some of its liquid alternative assets toward more investment grade products, a strategy which should introduce greater stability in results. Recent investment returns have been strong, as some of the company’s alternative investment strategies reach maturity.

Harrington continues to build out a diversified, multiline reinsurance book of business with a focus on medium to longer-tailed casualty lines. Harrington’s operating results have been mixed, reflecting challenges associated with being a start-up operation focused on casualty lines, which have been subject to social inflation. Currently, Harrington does not directly face the market and business is sourced through cessions from AXIS. Harrington has a developed risk management function and also benefits from expertise and systems from both its sponsors.

Negative rating action could occur if Harrington continues to experience significant adverse reserve development that impacts capitalization. Negative rating action could also occur if Harrington's investment performance experiences significant downside volatility or if risk-adjusted capitalization declines materially.

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’s Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best’s Credit Ratings, Best’s Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best’s Ratings & Assessments.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

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