Agency accords Tausi Insurance stable outlook on low risk

South African-based Global Credit Ratings (GCR) has accorded Tausi Assurance a stable outlook on the back of strong-risk adjusted capitalisation, supported by limited market risk exposures and relatively well contained insurance risks.

The agency in a rating notification released on Tuesday further noted liquidity metrics inclusive of government securities remained very strong.

“GCR has today affirmed the national scale claims paying ability rating assigned to Tausi Assurance Company Limited of A(KE), with the outlook accorded as stable.

The rating is valid until September 2019,” the agency said.

Recently, Prime Bank, a mid-sized lender became a majority shareholder in the insurer which was launched in 1993.

The rating agency said it expects capitalisation to register within a very strong range, supported by healthy internal capital generation and well-controlled dividend distributions.

The insurer is currently implementing its second strategic plan for the five-year period from 2017 to 2021.

According to the firm’s 2017 annual financial report, the actual performance in 2017 against the first year of the strategic plan was over 95 per cent against targets and budgets.

“In spite of fierce competition, the company achieved a growth of 10 per cent in the gross written premium, from Sh963 million in 2016 to Sh1.061 billion in 2017,” said Tausi’s chairman Rasik Kantaria.

GCR said this was supported by an expansion of the broker network, strengthening existing client relationships, and development of new products as well as pursuing quasi-niche lines of business.

“The management aims to maintain a well-balanced portfolio, while targeting lines of business which are characterised by fairly low product risk and adhering to disciplined underwriting guidelines,” GCR said.