AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Controladora Aserta S.A.P.I. de C.V. and Its Main Subsidiaries

AM Best also confirmed the NSR (aaa.MX) (Exceptional), Financial Strength Rating (A-) (Excellent), and Long-Term ICR (a-) of Aseguradora Insurgentes (S.A. de C.V.) which are the main subsidiaries to CA. These Credit Ratings (ratings), are stable. All companies are located in Mexico City, Mexico.

These ratings reflect AISA's and Asertas consolidated strength in balance sheets, which AM Best rates as very strong. They also reflect their strong operating performance and neutral business profile, and appropriate enterprise risk management.

AM Best expects that CA will maintain its overall strength assessment level. Management will continue to implement strategic initiatives to help CA sustain its current operating performance in the medium term.

AISA and Aserta received authorization to operate as insurance entities under a certainty insurance license (seguro de cuucion). In January 2017, they changed their names from Afianzadora Insurgentes S.A. de C.V. to Afianzadora Aserta S.A. de C.V. The companies were approved to underwrite surety and surety insurance, as well as credit insurance, in July 2018. Aserta's Spain branch was where the majority of the surety insurance business volume was issued as of December 2021.

These ratings reflect the group’s leadership position in Mexico's surety markets, its historically strong consolidated operating performance during the market cycle, and its experienced management team. The ratings also recognize the affiliation of the companies as larger members to CA.

Positive rating factors for the group are due to its surety companies' solid surplus positions, sound underwriting practices, and reinsurance programs that are placed among highly rated counterparties. AISA and Aserta maintained positive bottom-line results in spite of the slow growth of Mexico's surety sector over the past few years, and into 2022. Profitability and growth have been driven by Aserta’s Spain branch.

Mexico's surety sector continues to show signs that it is recovering, which has created conditions for expansion in the surety sector, particularly in infrastructure projects. For the past seven years, the companies have had positive bottom-line results, reporting a steady return on gross premium over different business cycles and changing market conditions, as well as adequate profitability metrics compared to other Mexican surety writers. CA has also taken steps to mitigate adverse market conditions and diversified its revenue by expanding its international presence and taking advantage of new surety opportunities. The company plans to expand into Spain, as more business is generated by its registrations in other countries. AM Best anticipates AISA/Aserta will maintain their market share and reach expansion targets, while also maintaining supportive risk-adjusted levels of capitalization (as measured by Best's Capacity Adequacy Ratio)

CA is protected by its reinsurance program as well as its contingency reserve. Its ERM framework allows it to effectively manage its exposures and efficiently use its capital to improve its solvency.

If CA and its subsidiaries continue to build their capital base and financial strength, and implement a geographical diversification strategy, positive rating actions may be possible. Negative rating actions could be caused by a decline in the company's expected profitability or capital generation. Negative rating actions could also be caused by adverse situations in the surety markets that result in a material deterioration to the company's risk adjusted capitalization to levels AM Best considers unsupportive of current ratings.

This press release is about Credit Ratings published on AM Best's site. Please visit AM Best's recent rating activity web page for all information regarding the release and any pertinent disclosures. This includes details about the office that issued each individual rating. Please see Guide to Best's Ratings for more information about the limitations and use of Credit Rating opinions. Please refer to Guide to Properly Use of Best’s Ratings & Assessments for more information about Best's Credit Ratings. Best's Performance Assessments. Best's Preliminary credit assessments, and AM Best press releases.

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