Corneille Karekezi, GMD Africa Re
BY NKECHI NAECHE-ESEZOBOR–The Financial Strength Rating of the African Reinsurance Corporation (Africa Re) has been affirmed by AM Best at “A (Excellent)”, and the long-term issuer credit rating affirmed at “a (Excellent)”, all with a Stable Outlook.
The rating agency continues to consider Africa Re’s balance sheet to be comfortably at the strongest level, underpinned by the strength of its risk-adjusted capitalisation. AM Best also considers Africa Re’s operating performance to be strong during the current tough economic, political and financial climate.
Africa Re’s appropriate Enterprise Risk Management and its favourable business profile are key indicators of its readiness to run its operations effectively within its complex business environment.
According to AM Best, Africa Re has privileged market access and high brand recognition in the industry. In their view, Africa Re “is expected to remain a leading regional player in Africa and continue generating strong operating performance, supported by improvements in underwriting performance”.
Dr. Corneille Karekezi, the Group MD/CEO of Africa Re, commenting on the rating affirmation by AM Best said: “In the current tough economic environment that we are all facing, this kind of news is very welcome, indicating Africa Re’s continued ability to serve its customers with confidence and to deliver to various stakeholders the value they are waiting for. The entire Africa Re staff shall spare no effort in working towards fulfilling our mission and continuing to instil trust in our stakeholders that we can navigate the current environment successfully.”
Africa Re is the leading pan-African reinsurance company and the largest reinsurer in Africa in terms of net reinsurance written premiums.
Africa Re was set up by 36 African states in 1976, following a recommendation of the African Development Bank (AfDB), to develop the insurance and reinsurance industry in Africa through increased underwriting and retention capacities, and to support the economic development of the continent. Ranked 36th in the 2019 Standard & Poor’s Global Reinsurance Groups and 41st in the Top 50 Global Reinsurance Groups by AM Best in 2019, Africa Re has a broad-based shareholding comprising: 42 African member States (34.63%); the African Development Bank (8.38%); 114 African insurance and reinsurance companies (34.94%); and 3 non regional shareholders (23.05%), including leading global insurers and reinsurers from France (AXA), Canada (FAIRFAX) and Germany (ALLIANZ SE). With headquarters in Lagos (Nigeria), Africa Re operates through six (6) Regional Offices across Africa: Casablanca (Morocco), Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), Nairobi (Kenya), Lagos (Nigeria), Cairo (Egypt) and Ebene (Mauritius). Africa Re equally has one (1) Local Office in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), one Underwriting Representative Office in Kampala, Uganda and three (3) Subsidiaries (Africa Re South Africa Limited in Johannesburg (South Africa), Africa Retakaful in Cairo (Egypt) and Africa Re Underwriting Agency Limited in Dubai (The United Arab Emirates)..
As at December 2020, Africa Re wrote US$804.7 million of premium income and realized a net profit of US$55.7 million. Its shareholders’ funds reached US$1.01 billion while its total assets were US$1.8 billion.
