By
Cherie Rowlands |
Small ship insurer, the Shipowners’ Club, has received its first interactive ratings from two leading credit agencies, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) and A M Best, after its board sought the assessments to underpin future business plan and development objectives.
The protection and indemnity (P&I) marine liability mutual received an ‘A-‘ rating for long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength with a ‘stable’ outlook from S&P, while A M Best also delivered a ‘stable’ outlook for its ‘A’ rating assessment.
Shipowners’ Club CEO Charles Hume said: “We resolved to upgrade to an interactive rating with two agencies whose reputations as influential, independent authorities on financial performance are well established across the world. We are very happy that our first review with both agencies has resulted in ‘A – ratings’, reflecting our own view of the strength and stability of the Club’s underwriting record and the size of our free reserves. We are sure that our members and their brokers will be pleased to note that the overall strength of the Club has been recognised by these ratings.”
S&P said the rating, in part, demonstrated that very strong capital adequacy has improved significantly in recent years, as a result of the club’s recent strong earnings, while a 'stable' assessment for the Shipowners’ Club reflects “our view that the Club will maintain its strong capitalisation and operating performance over the medium term.”
A M Best said: “The Club has a good niche business profile providing P&I insurance for over 31,000 small and specialised vessels operated by 6,000 members worldwide.”