Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 24
By Azad Hasanli – Trend:
Azerbaijan’s insurance company PASHA Insurance intends to increase its portfolio in agricultural insurance sphere, A.M. Best rating agency said in a report.
A.M. Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B+ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “bbb-” of PASHA Insurance OJSC (PASHA Insurance) (Azerbaijan). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) remains stable.
In 2017, the company’s gross written premium (GWP) increased by 9 percent compared to 2016 and reached 107 million manats, due to growth within lines outside its core corporate medical insurance book, such as motor, property, energy and agriculture. The company’s medical insurance business, which is primarily derived from a single group client, accounted for around 45 percent of its total GWP (52 percent in 2016).
Whilst PASHA Insurance is expected to continue to focus on corporate business, it also plans to develop its retail book and new lines of business such as agriculture, and further leverage opportunities with other PASHA group companies.
PASHA Insurance is taking steps to reduce its investment risk by revisiting its investment guidelines and investing a small proportion of assets in high-quality foreign debt securities, A.M. Best noted.
However, prospective performance may be subject to volatility due to the challenging market conditions in Azerbaijan and the company’s plans to expand into market segments where it has limited expertise, A.M. Best said in the report.
PASHA Insurance has been operating in the insurance market since 2006. As a member of PASHA Holding group of companies, PASHA Insurance offers 36 types of compulsory and voluntary insurance services for both individual and corporate customers.
PASHA Insurance is among leaders and the biggest insurers of the Azerbaijani insurance market for the amount of share capital, volume of insurance premiums and compensated insurance claims and other financial and non-financial indicators.